By Alex Langan

A Hall of Fame honoring outstanding Grady athletes and coaches is one of the first things first-year Athletic Director John Lambert wanted to bring to Grady.  The inaugural class, honoring coaches and athletes who represented the school with class and excellence will be inducted later this year. Lambert anticipates a large inaugural class.

“Our first class is going to be inducted in April,” Lambert said. “It will be people from all of Grady’s history considered. This is going to be our biggest class since it’s our first one. We haven’t voted on it yet but it’s going to be between eight and 15 people.”

Lambert said the hall will recognize former coaches and athletes after a nominating process. Those selected will be contacted about the recognition. 

Nominations for the Hall can be submitted by anybody through online forms that will be available shortly.

“Anyone can nominate candidates,” Lambert said. “A Grady alumni, Grady faculty, current or retired coaches, and Grady students can nominate candidates. They can nominate athletes, current, retired or inactive head coaches and current, retired or inactive donors and volunteers.”

The people voting on the candidates will be a five-person panel, most of whom have been associated with Grady athletics for a long period of time.

“We are going to have a panel of five [himself, longtime track coach Del Ellerton, PE teacher Tamara Aldridge, longtime cross country coach Jeff Cramer and former long-time athletic director and basketball coach Douglas Slade],” Lambert said.

In addition to the eligibility requirement of excellence, those inducted into the Hall will have to be graduated for at least five years as an athlete or earned significant hardware as a coach.

“In order to get in you have to be graduated from high school for five years,” Lambert said. “As a teacher or coach, you will need to have won a state title or had achieved different standards that we are laying out in the meetings coming up.”

The display will be in an extremely visible spot near the concessions stand in the gym. In that location,  the plaques will be seen by students and attendees of basketball and volleyball games as they enter the building.

“It’s going to be a nice plaque, and it’s going to have their name and what sport they played or coached,” Lambert said.

Many Grady athletes are eagerly anticipating the unveiling of the inaugural class.

“There are so many great athletes and coaches that have come through here that it would be really hard to pick just a few each year,” senior ultimate player Miles Pearlstein said. “Personally, I would like to see the people who helped to found the Gauntlet ultimate team, including our coach Max Leonard, inducted into the Grady sports Hall of Fame. He was a player then, and coached us to a state title last year; so, he would meet the criteria they want for candidates.”