I was blessed with the opportunity to meet Alan Ingram for the first time a few years ago. Since then we’ve shared a few beers, I watched him chase a fishing boat in a pond, we dodged alligators on Lake Seminole, I swatted gnats off my legs helping coach his players in a camp, we gutted a deer, and I learned more from him, and will take more memories with me from Iron City than he will ever know. If you’ve ever had the honor to meet the man, you are surely better off for it.
“After many days and hours of thought, prayer and discussions with my family, I have decided to retire from my current teaching and coaching position that I have held for the past 11 years at Seminole County Middle/High School. My three kids, who are all teachers or coaches, wanted me to continue – after all, that’s all they have ever known me to do. My wife, the one constant and sunshine of my life, was her usual; she just said, ‘Do what makes you happy.’ May 28th will be my last day of doing what I have done for the past 43 years.” – Coach Alan Ingram
For the last 43 years, Alan Ingram has inspired many to achieve greatness in football-crazy South Georgia. Alan’s reach has been wide and includes a generation of young men to whom he has been a coach, mentor, role model and quite often, a father figure.
The landscape of high school football in Georgia does not lend itself to suffering losing records for long, nor does it allow much longevity or stability for coaches who do not win. Coach Ingram never had that problem. In his eleven seasons as head coach for the Indians, he had only three losing campaigns – the first one in 2004, the last one in 2014, both seasons having a 4-6 record, and the 5-6 2008 campaign.
Almost 90 wins in 11 years ain’t bad. When we began back in 2004, I had one main goal – to winor lose with character; always do it with character and the wins will take care of themselves. I think we accomplished that goal. – Alan Ingram, Seminole County Head Coach 2004-2014
The name Alan Ingram is synonymous with winning in Georgia high school football. He first won as an assistant for Miller County, including several regional titles and state playoff appearances. He wins – and wins big – as the head coach at Seminole County, Ingram won 84 games and lost only 42. In eleven years as head chief for the Indians, Ingram had two 11 win seasons in 2011 and in 2013 – which became the single-season winningest Seminole County team ever with eleven wins to just one painful loss and did a three-peat on the Region championship – winning it three years in a row. He had four nine-win seasons – 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2012. In 2010 Ingram’s Indians won seven games and in 2007 he had a 6-5 record.
Leave a Reply