Jody Whaley

Whaley is a retired educator who has lived in Calhoun County all of his life.  Before retiring, he was the athletic director and principal at Saks High School for 15 years.  Before that he was the athletic director and principal at Ashville High School for five years where he watched the Bulldogs win a state championship in baseball. 

Whaley has close ties with several Hall of Famers. He grew up as a child watching Ragan Clark and the Ohatchee Indians.  He played football under Lou Scales, and Larry Ginn at Alexandria.  His first coaching assignment was as an assistant volunteer under Coach Bobby Joe Johnson at Saks High in 1993.  He then worked as an assistant coach under Coach Robert Herring at Oxford High for two years before spending four years coaching with Coach John Grass at Ashville High. 

Whaley had an immediate impact on athletics at Saks High when he took over as the AD in the fall of 2007.   

• He witnessed four regional football championships

• Three trips to the semi-finals in football

• One county championship and one trip to the state final four in men's basketball 

• Two county championships in girls basketball

• A county and state championship in softball

• Two trips to the quarter-finals in baseball

• A district championship in ladies' track and field

• And numerous individual state wrestling champions 

Whaley was named the principal of the year for the Calhoun County School system in 2016. He and his wife, Lisa are active members of Hill Crest Baptist Church.