By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Success in anything usually involves more than one person. Sometimes it is a whole community of people from different walks of life, with different personalities — but everyone pushing toward a common goal of excellence.
That is Watauga High School athletics and that was the central message of athletic director Dustin Kerley on June 6 as he addressed close to 100 coaches, administrators, spouses, children and significant others celebrating a “Coaches Night” dinner in the school cafeteria.
To create successful programs revolving around the development of high character and high-achieving student athletes — which Watauga has done the past several years on both the high school and middle school levels — required the dedicated efforts of a lot of people both in and around the Watauga County School District. At the head of it all, Kerley had a lot of thank-yous to say out loud to everyone and he didn’t miss a one over the course of the evening.
Before dinner, Kerley handed out three awards, the first a Service Award to Hannah Blevins, the athletic trainer who has served the Pioneer student athletes and, Kerley said, even many of the coaches who might be found lying on a table with an ice pack on ankle, knee, or another part of the physical person.
Kerley also recognized WCS administrators Dr. Stephen Martin and Dr. Scott Elliott, both of whom are soon retiring.
Martin is WCS Assistant Superintendent and Human Resources Director and, Kerley reported, was largely responsible for Watauga’s expansion of its middle school athletics program.
“When he first started, the Watauga School District had school specific middle school sports in boys and girls basketball and girls volleyball, and a district football team. Now there are District teams in football, girls and boys basketball, girls and boys soccer, baseball, softball, cross country, track, golf, wrestling and cheerleading, and individual school based programs in boys and girls basketball and volleyball,” said Kerley. “You might also see him driving a school bus, serving as a required administrator at a sports competition, serving lunches in the cafeteria, or shoveling snow outside the administration building.”
Martin, Kerley said, previously served as an educator in Caldwell County and has been a coach or game official for many years.
Kerley heaped similar thanks and appreciation on outgoing WCS Superintendent Scott Elliott who, the athletic director said, didn’t seem to know how to reject an idea or dismiss a need. Instead, he embraced projects and found ways to get them done, going on to list the many physical plant improvements that have been completed or started under Elliott’s watch as superintendent, including new flooring and interior improvements to the gymnasium and new turf on the stadium field, among many others.
After Kerley’s long list of thank-yous, there was an unscripted poignant moment when golf coach Klay Anderson was called upon to offer a prayer in blessing the food the group was about to eat. Before the prayer, Anderson told the crowd that there was one big thank-you that had been left out, and that was to Kerley himself, for his leadership.
“I have watched him grow into the role,” said Anderson. “He pays attention to every detail. I have served as a coach here and over the years have worked under six athletic directors and met a lot more. Dustin Kerley is right up there at the top, on the same level as the best of them.”
