The Lowndes County School Board voted April 12, 2022, to appoint Jack Grays as the new Head Football Coach and Director of Football Operations for Lowndes County Schools.
Grace has 15 years of coaching experience at the high school level and most recently has been the head coach of the Thomasville High School Bulldogs for the past six years. There, he took a program that went 1-8 in their previous season. He finished with a 53-23 record at Thomasville with multiple play-off appearances in the last five years. The Bulldogs have won the region in 2017, 2018 and 2021 with an overall 6 year area record of 23-4. Four of his teams appeared in the quarter-finals or in a state championship match with another 2021 team.
Grace’s career began in 2006 as a baseball coach at Richmond Hill. He joined the football team and quickly moved to the top, working as an offensive coordinator before moving to Calcutta County in 2009.
In Calcutta County, Gray coached varsity football as well as varsity baseball pitching coach. In football, he has worked in many capacities, including strength and conditioning coordinator (2013-14) and offensive coordinator. As the offensive coordinator in 2014, his Calcutta County team set a national record for the highest ranking with 687 points. His 2014 team was unbeaten in winning the Georgia 6A State Championship.
Prior to taking over as head coach at Thomasville City in 2016, coach Graz was a one-year head coach at Gilmar High School in Eliza, Georgia.
“I am thrilled and humble to have the opportunity to lead this program and to carry on the One Lowndes traditions,” said Gray.
Grace will begin her new role on April 13, 2021 when she meets her new team and coaching staff. He is looking forward not only to start work, but also to immerse himself, his wife, Mandy and their three children in the community.
“There is no doubt that this is a destination,” he said. “My family and I are totally planning to make it our home. We want our kids to go through the Lowndes County school system.
Before coaching his athletes, Grays made it clear that he wanted to know them as individuals. “My first priority is to teach all the kids as fast as possible,” she says. “I want to dive into every aspect of their lives, from academics to social aspects, of course football.”
Coach Grace graduated from high school in Indiana and earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Evansville University. He holds a master’s degree in kinesiology from Georgia Southern and his teacher leadership from Georgia Southwestern State University.
Superintendent Wes Taylor is thrilled to have Staff Coach Grace.
“We welcome Coach Grace, his wife and children into our Viking family,” Taylor said. “He’s a great addition and we look forward to continuing our winning tradition.”
Grace will be the 4th Lowndes head coach in the last 30 years and our 10th head coach in the program’s 56-year history.
