Photo by Ron Burkett.
Clay-Chalkville named its football field after Jerry Hood, its former football coach and the winningest coach in program history, on Oct. 27.
Jerry Hood’s contributions to the Clay-Chalkville High School football program will not soon be forgotten.
The former head coach of the Cougars and 280-area resident was honored in a pregame ceremony Oct. 27, before Clay-Chalkville took on Park Crossing at the venue that will from now on be referred to as Jerry Hood Field at Cougar Stadium.
Hood, who retired from his position last spring, was visibly touched by the honor.
“It’s unbelievable,” Hood said. “You don’t ever really think about something like this. This community is so special to me and the kids are so special to me. All these men and women who come into our lives as coaches and administrators, I’m just touched.
“I kept looking around, ‘cause I kind of knew what was going on, but I couldn’t find it till they dropped over there [a banner on the fieldhouse], it brings tears to your eyes.”
Since stepping down at Clay-Chalkville, Hood has made his presence felt along the U.S. 280 corridor. He is a regular at Oak Mountain High School sporting events. His son, Christian, enjoyed an excellent junior football season this fall as the Eagles’ starting place-kicker.
In the winter, Hood can be found at the gymnasium regularly, where his daughter Olivia has solidified her role as a solid player for the Lady Eagles basketball team.
Hood didn’t have to hang up his whistle entirely, though. During the fall, he served as an assistant for Fred Yancey and the Briarwood Christian School football program. Hood primarily helped coached the freshman team under the direction of Jared Walker.
“He is quite a wonderful addition to our staff,” Yancey said. “He’s one of the great coaches in the state, period.”
Yancey lauded Hood for how he views football through a wider lens and for how he “sees the hearts of kids.”
“I have all the respect in the world with Coach Hood,” Yancey said. “Working on a daily basis, it’s even better than I anticipated, and I knew it would be great.”
Hood coached the Cougars for eight seasons, leading them to a 15-0 record and the Class 6A state championship in 2014. The Cougars went 14-1 and finished as runner-up in 2015. In 2011, he led the Cougars to a 10-0 season on the field, but they were forced to forfeit nine of those wins due to an AHSAA rules violation.
On the field, he led the Cougars to an 84-17 mark and is the school’s all-time winningest coach. He came to Clay-Chalkville after posting a 28-26 record at Oak Mountain for a career mark of 112-43.
Clay-Chalkville Principal Michael Lee said this was the right time to honor Hood.
“Obviously, this took a lot of people to get this done, and Dr. Pouncey and the [Jefferson County] Board of Education, I just want to thank them for letting us do this,” he said. “But just doing this for Jerry for what he’s meant to our community and our school, and me as a principal, I felt this was the right thing for us to do and the right time for us to do it.”
– David Knox contributed to this story.
