InTucker Magazine

High Expectations at Tucker High

Trophies on top of trophies and banners on top of banners line the walls and shelves of Tucker High School. THS has a reputation for high expectations, and this extends to their Fall Athletics. That success brought Football Head Coach Wayne Jones to THS, and he looks to add more trophies and banners to their pile.

Jones played football and track at Hart County High School in Hartwell, Georgia. After high school he competed in track at High Point College. Then he coached track and football in North Carolina. Years later he wanted to come back home to Georgia and had his eyes on THS.

“I have always seen Tucker on the Corky Kell and things of that nature,” Jones said. “I always knew that Tucker had a rich tradition.”
In 2021 he was given the opportunity to join THS as a Track Coach and Assistant Football Coach. The following year he was named Head Coach of the Tucker Tigers and got to work continuing their success.

“If anyone gets a win against Tucker it’s a notch on their belt because Tucker is expected to win,” Jones said.

THS Football has won 18 regional championships and two state championships. The Tigers have not missed the playoffs for the past 16 seasons.

Part of that success is due to the support THS Athletics receives. A handful of pro athletes who are former THS students give their time and resources back to THS. Jones has had former student-turned-NFL players come back to talk to current players and help with equipment and practice gear.

Football is not THS’s only successful fall sport. Their cross-country teams have a history of sending runners to the state championships. Their flag football team is coming off a run in the playoffs and expects to do the same this season. The THS softball program has a history of making playoff runs and started off the season with a 27-0 win in a dominant performance against their opponent. Volleyball is another successful program coming off a playoff run from last season. This season THS hired Cheer Head Coach Dionyal Spencer to lead the cheer program and add to the success of THS Athletics.

“It is that mystique of what Tucker has built and the foundation that they have built that makes it so special,” Jones said. “Tucker High School has always been a place where people want to go. It will continue to be one of those schools people want to go to because you are going to have some academic success as well as athletic success.”