Rob Roberts never envisioned being the head coach at Newton County Academy for more than one or two seasons, much less 13.
Roberts’ time at NCA came to an end recently when he informed the school’s Board of Directors that he was stepping down as the head football coach.
Roberts’ departure brings to a close the most successful stretch in school history in the football program. Roberts went 84-77 in his 13 years as head coach, which was highlighted by the 2014 state championship and a 12-2 record. Roberts also recorded nine winning seasons and six district championships.
“I started as an assistant in 02 and did that for a couple of years and told them I would take over as head coach for a year or two,” Roberts said. “I ended up doing it for 13 years. It’s been a good ride. I got to be with my kids as they grew up in school and that was really special. A first, I thought I would stay until Rob graduated and then it was until Alexa graduated. And then it was kind of one year at a time. I really didn’t expect to be the head coach for 13 years.”
Roberts said when he took over the program, it hadn’t seen a lot of success.
“I remember when we first started, it seems like we were everybody’s homecoming opponent,” Roberts said. “I remember when we beat Heidelberg that first time and everybody was going crazy because it was only the second or third time we had beat them in school history. I always prided myself of have a good physical football team. Winning that state championship was probably the biggest thrill of my time here. That was something special.”
Roberts said he is stepping down to spend more time with his family and grandkids. Roberts said he is looking forward to following his son, Rob Roberts, who is the offensive coordinator at Newton County.
“I just decided it was time to step down and do something different and spend more time with my family,” Roberts said. “It take a lot of time to coach football and I just wanted to spend more time with my family. I wanted to change a few things.”
Roberts said he wasn’t retiring all together but doesn’t know what he will do immediately.
“I really don’t know what I’m going to do,” Roberts said. “I’ll spend next year following Rob at Newton County. It will be good to go to the game as a fan and not have to put in all the time into preparing for the game. I’m not retiring, I just didn’t sign back up. I’ll do something, I just don’t know what that is yet.”
