No Place Like Home

With this year's basketball season coming to an end at the Eastern Regional championships last week, I took some time to reflect on the impact of players, coaches, the school and the community during my time as principal at Greene Central. While many were disappointed that we did not emerge with a state championship, it's important to look on the impact students and teachers have had on our school and community through a game. Six years ago, the games were sparsely attended. Some of the regular attendees came just to heckle our players and coaches. I was determined to work on building a more positive atmosphere, but I quickly learned that those cultural aspects had to be taught. I remember putting up the Ram Pen sign to develop a student section and having to show YouTube videos of students at other high schools to our fans. We also focused on promoting the players and coaches doing good things in the community, especially in the elementary schools of Greene County. It was a full-fledged PR campaign designed to change the culture of the school and its outlook in the community. 

A year later we inherited a freshman class with Imajae Dodd, Donte Johnson, and Hysaan Hudson. These young men would grow to become key players on the court and in the change process. Their success helped make Greene Central basketball known throughout the state, but it also started putting fans in the stands cheering and supporting our boys. Students and adults stood in lines and moved their schedules to see them play and those elementary students looked to them as heroes. The tide had changed. 

Over the next few years, there would be people and events that would look to pull some of these young men away. A family issue caused Hudson to move for a short time, only to return home to the support that he needed. Dodd would be sought out at larger schools for more exposure, but ultimately, he felt that he belonged as a Ram. This year, the return to Greene County of our new head coach, Blue Edwards, cemented the idea that there's no place like home. In an era where high school students transfer schools, falsify addresses and even have parents give up custody of them to selfishly build a championship team, this home-grown group gave a community of blue-collar workers something to be proud of. 

It's about more than putting fans in the bleachers. It's about community support. It was at basketball games that I met graduates of Greene Central that had returned to the community and looked to offer something back. I met Greene Central's first African-American graduate, former NFL players, and Grammy nominees. All of these people remarked at how great it was to see the community rally around the school and how they wished it was that way when they were students. What was built on the maple floors of that small gym won't be broken. The culture has changed so much outside of those cinder block walls. And no matter where our students go, I hope that they get the chance to return one day to remember that there really is no place like home.