Charles Flowers is a man that was born to lead. During his time at Shaw High School he was a head coach of both the football team in the fall. Then when the calendar turned to spring Coach Flowers was in the dugout as the head coach of the Shaw Baseball team.
"And people always ask you which sport do you like the most? I always told them whichever sport is in season," said Flowers.
One of Coach Flowers best moments as a head coach happened when he led the Shaw Raiders to the Class 4A State Football Championship in fall of 2000. Then the following spring the Raiders baseball team won a GHSA State Championship as well.
The longtime dual sport head coach is going to be enshrined in the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame as both a football and baseball head coach. Coach Flowers will be the first person to be inducted like that in the GACA Hall of Fame.
"It is truly an honor to be inducted the first one into the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Hall of fame for two sports. I still haven't quite grasped it yet," said Flowers.
Coach Flowers wasn't always an easy coach to play for because he had an intense side. His former players didn't like it back then, but they appreciate those lessons now. Edwin Jackson was a pitcher for Shaw's State Championship baseball team. After his time in Columbus, he pitched for 19 years in Major League Baseball, was named an MLB All-Star and was a member the St. Louis Cardinals that World Series Championship team. He credits the tough love from Coach Flowers for molding him for his future in baseball.
"You know he was tough. He was demanding but it was something that he saw in all of us to bring out the best in who we are. At the time you don't understand it. But as you get older you look back and you're like dang okay that's what it was," said Jackson.
There's one hard lesson that former players still remember vividly. Former NFL and Georgia Tech linebacker Philip Wheeler played in Super Bowl LI with the Atlanta Falcons, and he said this particular drill helped solidify his mental toughness.
"Graveyard shift was at 4 o'clock in the morning you had to get up and run laps. And you had to run through a graveyard. on Jacobs, in the league, he played for the Giants. But man I ran through a graveyard and 4 am in the morning. How is this guy going to run over me?," said Wheeler.
No matter which professional path former Shaw Raiders took after they graduated, the timeless lessons from Coach Flowers helped them become leaders in their lives. Damian Daniels has won multiple indoor football championships with Columbus Lions as a player. This past season he led the Lions to an AIF Championship as the head coach. Daniels says he actually repeats a lot of the sayings he heard over and over again during Shaw's practices.
"You know I look back and I even catch myself sometimes saying some of the things that he said. It's very funny. One of the biggest things I got is just the work ethic. We worked at Shaw so hard, so extremely hard. It was crazy," said Daniels.
Antarrious Williams-Neal, who was part of the undefeated and SEC Championship winning 2004 Auburn Football team, drew a comparison between his high school football coach and one of the greatest college football coaches of all time.
"I've got to compare it to how Nick Saban was at Alabama, because Coach Flowers brought kids from all over the city. We all came together and we all competed. I mean I think that's the most important part too, we all challenged each other to be better on a day to day basis. Flowers we didn't have as much beef as you would think. Bringing kids from all around. We all focused on whatever that mission was at the time," said Williams-Neal.
While the win-loss record is impressive, Coach Flowers has always made developing people as the priority. He challenged all his players to create their own legacy even after their playing days are over.
"Understanding that we're developing young men. They're going to be fathers, leaders and servants Understanding that it's more than just baseball and football. What are you going to do when you can't hit anymore? What are you going to do when you can't tackle anymore? What kind of person are you? What kind of legacy are you going to leave? What are you going to be able to tell your children and your grandchildren?," said Coach Flowers.
Charles Flowers will be inducted into the GACA Hall of Fame this upcoming May. He continues to work to impact the lives of students and their parents through his "Second Chance Works" program.
Phil Scoggins profiled that program in a "News 3 Neighbors" segment. Click here to see that story.
And for more information about the "Second Chance Works" program click here.
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