February 20, 2013
Jeff Herron Named New Football Coach
Jeff Herron, one of Georgia’s most successful high school coaches, has been named Head Football Coach at Prince Avenue Christian School, says Wolverine Athletic Director Richard Ricketts.
Herron’s current record is 242-45, following Camden County’s advancement to the second round of the AAAAAA Georgia High School Playoffs in 2012. His teams have won four state championships: 3 at Camden County, and 1 at Oconee County High School. He led his teams to 7 final four games, 11 region championships, and 2 sub-region championships. He has averaged more than 10 wins per season over his career, and he has never had a losing season. In 2010, he was recognized as the “Best Active Coach” in Georgia by an Atlanta Journal-Constitution survey of the state’s high school football coaches, garnering 64.5 % of the vote. He has been named “State Coach of the Year” by various organizations nine times, and his Camden County Wildcat program was named the “Program of the Decade.”
In 2003, Herron was honored as the National Football League’s Coach of the Year by the Atlanta Touchdown Club. He was the GACA South All-Star team head coach in 2007 and an assistant on the East Team of the U.S. Army All-American Game in 2009.
“We are very excited to be able get Jeff Herron to come in and take our football program to the next level,” says Ricketts. “Coach Herron is very respected throughout the state of Georgia, not just because of his incredible record as a football coach, but also because of his reputation for leading a program with class and character. I am excited for our school and community to get the opportunity to work with Coach Herron and to get to know his wonderful family.”
“My family and I are very excited to be coming to Prince Avenue Christian School,” says Coach Herron. “We were first attracted to the location, but once we visited the school, met many people, and came to understand all that Prince Avenue stands for, we were very impressed. We saw that this would be a fantastic opportunity. Coach Farriba has done a tremendous job with the football program, and I hope that I will be able to continue the great success and maintain the tradition of winning that has been established in such a short time.”
Head of School Danny Howell is also excited to welcome Coach Herron to the Prince Avenue Christian School staff. “We are thrilled to welcome Coach Herron and his family to the Prince Avenue community. Coach Herron’s reputation and accomplishments as an educator and football coach are off the charts. More importantly, Coach Herron is a man of character whose passion for excellence will continue to help us raise the bar as we strive to get better in all that we do.”
Coach Herron is the Wolverines’ third head coach. Coach Richard Ricketts began the school’s football program with a middle school team in 2002, and he coached the Wolverines’ first two varsity seasons before Mark Farriba took over the program in 2007. During Farriba’s six years as head coach, the Wolverines advanced to the playoffs for the first time in 2010, and they had an undefeated regular season, region 8A championship, and advanced to the GHSA semi-final game in 2011. The team advanced to the GHSA state championship final in the Georgia Dome in 2012, and they were ranked 3rd in the final combined public-private poll in 2012.
Coach Herron was a four-year starter as defensive back at Emory and Henry College, and he was team captain his senior year. His coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Tennessee Tech and then as assistant coach at McEachern High in Cobb County. He has served as head coach at Walton High School, Cedar Shoals in Athens, Wheeler High, and Oconee County High before his tenure at Camden County.
Coach Herron and his wife Inka have four children, Brittany, Major, Taylor, and Tyson, and they are expecting their first grandchild any day.