The fifth winner of the 2017 season is Adam Collins of Community Christian School in Stockbridge. Collins was nominated by Craig Chatman, an assistant football coach and teacher at Community Christian School.
"Adam Collins is everything, I mean everything that is right about high school football," Chatman said in his nomination. "He has the best interests of all his players in mind, with all of his decisions. He puts players in positions that will make better men, not just football players."
Coach Collins' duties extend far beyond the football field, touching not only the lives of his players, but the members of the community as well.
"He has run a community football camp for the last nine years," Chatman said. "The camp is for the church and surrounding areas. It introduces young children to the game of football and does it in a manner that promotes safety, technique, effort and passion for the game."
For Collins, the desire to see his student-athletes succeed leads him to put in extra time with players who might be struggling to make the grade. Chatman cites a specific example of when Collins helped one of the team's top players recover from his academic struggles.
"[The player] was in danger of failing out of school," Chatman said. "But coach Collins kept him around and forced him to attend all summer sessions while finishing summer school. He didn't finish and he was suspended for six weeks. Most people would have moved on, but Adam kept pushing him and now he is on pace to graduate with a GPA that will allow him to play college football."
This season, Collins has led CCS to a 4-0 record with wins over Griffin Christian, Bethlehem Christian, Horizon Christian and Creekside Christian. His team won the GICAA Division II state title last season. In closing, Chatman put things into perspective: "My nephew plays for him. If I had a son, he would play for him also."
