Shon Hardy came to Savannah to take the toughest of jobs: replacing highly respected Chad Griffin as Calvary Day School athletic director.
Griffin, who also coached both Cavalier soccer teams and the girls flag football squad, left with his wife Sherry, also a Calvary teacher and coach, to accept jobs at Hebron Christian in Dacula, near Atlanta.
Hardy acknowledged the legacy the Griffins left, and said he will do his best to carry on the strong athletic tradition at Calvary Day. He comes east from Texas, where he served as the athletic director at Trinity Valley School in Fort Worth. Before that, he worked as the athletic director at Episcopal Collegiate in Little Rock, Arkansas.
“What brought me to Calvary Day were the people, and the commitment everyone has here for the kids and athletics,” Hardy said. “And my wife and I wanted to be closer to our family in North Carolina.”
Hardy was a three-sport standout in his prep days at Garner High School in North Carolina, where he participated in basketball, track and field and was a member of the state championship football team in 1987.
He walked on as a football player at North Carolina State, where he earned his undergraduate degree.
More CDS:How a football squad stacked with talent plans to build on last year’s playoff run
“Calvary Day impressed me with the coaches and teachers,” Hardy said. “What struck me was how much the coaches care about the kids in each program, and how they are committed to developing the whole person. We have coaches like (football coach) Mark Stroud, who has such a demeanor of fellowship; he looks for the best in everyone.”
More football:Calvary sends a message with upset win over defending state champion Prince Avenue
Hardy said he wants to carry on with the sports tradition that Griffin helped build at Calvary.
“I want to continue to build energy and passion for all of our sports,” Hardy said. “We’ve got a great athletic program. These are exciting times at Calvary Day.”
More football:Preseason Top 20 high school players in the Savannah area
Stroud said that Hardy has made a great first impression with coaches, athletes and staff members.
“Shon has been very proactive and he’s been very present — getting to know everyone,” Stroud said. “He’s a good leader and is building relationships. He is willing to help and support all of our teams.”
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.
