The Atlanta Falcons Coach of the Week program recognizes 12 high school football coaches across the state of Georgia for their hard work and dedication to making a difference in student-athletes' lives on and off the field over the course of the season. The 10th winner this season is Calvin Arnold of G.W. Carver High School in Columbus.
Arnold was nominated by Anson Hundley, an assistant athletic director at Carver High School.
"I am recommending Coach Calvin Arnold because he is an example of what a teacher/coach is supposed to be," Hundley said in the nomination. "He is always willing to help the students, staff and people in the community. He comes early and stays late and has tremendous pride in being part of G.W. Carver High School."
Arnold has been a head coach for three seasons, two at Spencer in 2013-14 and this season at Carver. The Tigers are 3-6 this season with wins over Westover (20-0), Shaw (46-7) and Hardaway (38-31). Class AAAA Carver will face No. 10 Americus-Sumter on Friday. The Tigers are currently the No. 4 team in 1-AAAA and are in line for a playoff berth.
"Since taking over in December of 2016," Hundley said in the nomination, "Coach Arnold was able to help get 13 student-athletes into [college] to further their academic and athletic careers."
Carver has focused on the impact his team has not only on the school, but the community as well, through cleanup efforts and other similar activities.
"He had the entire football team participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. Learning Trail cleanup, where they picked up trash and cleaned up the community," Hundley said.
Arnold understands the importance of safety for his program and the youth programs that will eventually feed into the high school.
"Coach Arnold teaches and stresses Heads Up Football to all his coaches and he has even hosted a seminar to all the youth coaches in the area to teach Heads Up Football," Hundley said.
Each week, one coach will be selected to be the Atlanta Falcons Coach of the Week based on his commitment to his team, community and player safety. The winning coach will receive a $1,000 equipment grant, a commemorative football and tickets to an Atlanta Falcons home game.
The window for nominations for the 2017 season ended Nov. 1. Next year, in order to nominate a coach, go to AtlantaFalcons.com/CoachoftheWeek.
