Area coaching legend sets wisdom down in print

GAINESVILLE -- After 50 years of molding young minds and teaching the game of football, Jim Lofton had way more than just a few stories and a handful of wisdom to impart.

So even after he hung up his whistle in 1998, the coaching veteran, whose resume included a state championship, numerous region championships and a 255-112-2 record, continued holding clinics and training younger coaches throughout northeast Georgia. It was during these sessions that Lofton saw the need for something more than just a weekend of training could provide.

“At every clinic I had the coaches write down questions for me on areas they needed help on, and I would try to answer them all” Lofton said. “Well, I kept hold of these questions and answers, and, eventually I saw I had enough to write a book.”

On Saturday morning at the North Hall High School fieldhouse, Lofton, still spry at the age of 81, will unveil the resulting book to fans and coaches alike -- fittingly -- just before he commences another coaching clinic.

“So You Think You Want to Coach...” is the amalgamation of the wisdom Lofton earned through years of leading programs like Jefferson, East Hall, North Hall and Greater Atlanta Christian and strives to give any coaching hopeful a blueprint for success.

“I felt an obligation to help anyone who wanted to know how to be a better coach,” said Lofton still a Hall County resident. “As coaches we have a great responsibility, because we can get kids going in the right direction and have a tremendous influence on their lives.”

Football took on a key role early in Lofton’s life, yet it wasn’t until he joined the United States Army, 11th Airborne Division, in June of 1947, that it became a central focus, as the Memphis, Tenn., native made his way onto the division’s gridiron team, and, consequently earned a scholarship at Auburn University.

“We played a team from Fort Benning, and the coach from Auburn was there and saw me and offered me a scholarship,” said Lofton, who left the Army in 1950 to play for legendary Tigers coach Shug Jordan. Lofton’s experience on the plains of Alabama created for him a lifetime network of football compatriots, including a roommate who was destined for big things as head coach for the University of Georgia -- Vince Dooley (who provides a forward for Lofton’s book).

In fact it was a phone call from Dooley that pushed Lofton toward the northeast Georgia area in the mid 1960s, when -- after assisting and coaching in various schools, including Atlanta’s Dykes High -- Dooley asked Lofton to talk with the administration at Jefferson High about their football vacancy.

“I went up there as a favor to Dooley,” Lofton said. “The way it ended up, I took the job and two of my five sons graduated from Jefferson.”

After compiling a 54-28 record and leading the Dragons as far as the state quarterfinals, Lofton was lured back to Alabama after the 1974 season to take over at Lee Academy (in the Auburn area). He won a state title during his four years at Lee, but during Lofton’s stay there he and wife Ruby Jean discovered that northeast Georgia was, more than any other, the place they wanted to live. So when an opportunity presented itself at East Hall, Lofton jumped at the chance, taking over the Vikings for the 1979 season.

Lofton went on to lead East Hall to a 62-26 record and the program’s only state semifinal appearance so far (1982), before moving to North Hall in 1987 and then Greater Atlanta Christian in 1994. During his time with the Trojans, Lofton presided over North Hall’s most prosperous era of football to that point, going 37-33-1 (the Trojans were 68-213-4 prior). He then took a young GAC program to prominence, going 40-19 with a state semifinal appearance in his final season (1998).

During those seasons, Lofton learned more than just Xs and Os, including how to build successful coaching staffs, relate with members of the community and school administration and, most important, how to relate with and mold successful young men. “So You Think You Want to Coach...” is built around those very lessons, along with a breakdown of the basics of the game, how to run successful practices and how to prepare for contests.

“It’s an easy read,” Lofton said. “But it contains a lot of information that I feel will be helpful to young coaches. It’s not easy to be a coach, and I’ve seen a lot of young coaches who were great players or know a lot about the game not be successful because they didn’t know how to lead.

“A lot of coaches, especially youth-level coaches, expect kids to go out there and be the bull in the ring from the very start, and that’s ridiculous. You have to bring kids along slowly. You don’t just expect a kid to jump in and start reading right away. You have to teach them how,” added Lofton, who taught English during his years at the high school level. “Football’s just the same.”

Lofton will be at North Hall from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, signing his book and conducting clinics with former players of his from throughout his tenure.

Lofton also has a blog -- www.coachlofton.com -- a development the coach finds rather humorous: “I don’t even know how to turn on a computer!” he joked. “But I have some great help with it, just like I did on my book. All I had to do was write it.”