Recreation Head Exudes Energy
You know his name. You recognize his face, or at least you should to both of the aforementioned. Keldrick Davis is the home grown talent now tapped to lead the Jasper County Recreation Department.
Keldrick was raised in Monticello and attended Jasper County schools before graduating. He then headed to South Georgia State College in Waycross to acquire an associates degree in middle grades education and play basketball, the sport he loves most.
He then signed with Thomas University to continue his education and playing basketball. I did some digging and found his signing picture from May 2013, nearly 10 years ago.
In those 10 years since signing at Thomas University, Keldrick earned his degree, played the sport he loves on a collegiate level, and returned home to lead the next generation of local youth. In the Spring of 2015, the Jasper County Board of Education hired him to work at Jasper County Middle School where he remained until a month ago.
Keldrick was, and still is, an invaluable resource to JCMS inside the classroom and out. He took his love of sports to coaching and made a serious impact on the track field, football field, and the basketball court.
The new Rec Director led the 2019 Middle School Canes to the Piedmont Athletic Conference (PAC) Basketball Championship Title in undefeated fashion at 17-0. Rufus Whitlock accomplished the same feat in 2015 as well.
Some of the players on Keldrick’s championship squad are graduating seniors this year playing at area high schools having made a name for themselves in the sport they played under his direction just four years ago. Marcus Whitlock, Jr. and Ashton Pennamon help lead the Newton High Rams to the AAAAAAA Elite Eight just missing the Final Four by a basket in overtime. Landon Bonner helped lead the Putnam County War Eagles to the AA Sweet Sixteen. Cedrion Stone graduates JCHS this spring with some astounding sports accolades especially in football.
In October 2022, Keldrick was appointed as a volunteer on the Recreation Board he will now advise. He is no rookie to recreation sports as he grew up playing in the local league and on the same fields.
“This job is a dream come true for me,” exclaimed the new director. “I played football on that field as a young boy,” he said as he pointed out of the office window to Field 5.
In the five weeks he’s been on the job, the best thing for him has been the way that his staff has welcomed him in.Robert Rosser and Brandon Williams assist Keldrick in the office and on the field. Robert has served with the department since May 2022 and Brandon since April 2021.
Keldrick said that the warm reception from his coworkers has made all the difference for him explaning that it could have gone very different.
“Robert has been my Day 1 since I started and that says a lot. He was here before me and we were up for the same position, which I got. He could have not welcomed me in or being willing to share his knowledge with me but he has only embraced me and help push the department forward. I thank him for that.”
Robert said that the affairs of the department was not about who wins personally but rather everyone working together so that the kids always win.
“His energy is great,” Robert said of his coworker.”Watching him execute a project is like shaking up a soda can, opening it, and watching it explode everywhere. He is like a pinball machine, everywhere making sure everyone is good.”
Both Robert and Keldrick share a background of teaching before coming to the recreation department. The former taught primary grades from kindergarten to second while the latter concentrated on the middle grades. So taking care of the kids is in their blood.
There are definitely some goals in mind the director has for the program. The first of which includes a new and improved facility. It would be nice to have a gym of their own to play basketball and host tournaments instead of trying to schedule time around other activities at the school’s facilities, he said.
“The community is growing which means the number of kids here are growing. Having our own facility will be key to the program,” said Keldrick.
Robert noted that another goal of the recreation program is to help streamline the transition for the young athletes from the rec level to the middle school level to the varsity level. Making the transitions a smooth process that builds and reinforces the same fundamentals will benefit the higher level athlete in the end.
“If you pay attention to the Perrys and the Bufords, the expectations are reinforced,” he said referring to larger athletic programs which continually experience success across the board.
The trio has been really busy preparing for Opening Day of Spring sports which will kickoff with a Fun Day on Saturday,
