WS Chronicle

In photo above: Donald Carter Sr. felt like he had opportunity of a lifetime when four years ago he was offered a position at Glenn High School, where his son Donald Carter Jr. was a linebacker. Although it was hard at times the father and son learned to deal with it. (Photo by Tevin Stinson)

By Tevin Stinson
The Chronicle

For nearly 25 years, Donald Carter Sr. has coached football at the high school level, but over the past four seasons, he’s had the opportunity of a lifetime, to coach his only child, Donald Jr., who is finishing up his senior year at Glenn High School.

When offered the position, Carter Sr. said it was a no-brainer. He sees it as an opportunity to help his son grow as an athlete and as a man.
“You don’t get many opportunities to coach your own son at any level of the sport, but especially at the high school level,” Carter said.

During his playing days, Donald Sr. was a force to be reckoned with. As a linebacker at West Forsyth, he was known as a hard-hitting runstopper who always seemed to be one step ahead of his blockers at all times. He went on to earn a scholarship to play at Lees-McRae College, where he played two years before transferring to Winston-Salem State University.

Donald Jr., who has heard a countless number of stories about his father’s playing days, said he didn’t try to model his game after his father but instead took his words of advice and put his own twist on them.

“I don’t think I took anything from his physical game,” Donald Jr. said. “I just took from his experiences and knowledge of the game.”
During his senior season, Donald Jr. racked up 130 tackles, five sacks and a number of forced fumbles.

At first, Donald Jr. admits it was hard playing for his dad, who is known for his intensity on game days and even practices. Eventually he learned to distinguish the difference between coach and father.

“At first it was very hard,” Donald Jr. said. “But by my senior year, I learned to just deal with it.”

Early in the process, if Donald Jr. missed a few tackles in a row or had a misstep in practice, Donald Sr. would be the first to be in his ear to tell him about it. But as time passed and with the help of the Bobcat coaching staff, Donald Sr. learned to tone it down a bit.

“I always had our coaching staff putting bugs in my ear, telling me to lighten up on him.” Donald Sr. said. “After a while, I started to use different approaches to see how he would respond.”

Donald Jr. graduated last week and will be attending North Carolina A&T University in the fall, where he will be studying to become an engineer. Even though he has seen his son accomplish a lot on the field, Donald Sr. said seeing his son walk across the stage was always the most important goal.
“Once you walk across that stage, life really begins,” Donald Sr. said. “It’s a lot ahead for him. He has all the resources and tools to be successful, and more than anything, I want him to reach his goal of becoming a engineer.”