News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Upperman High School welcomes a familiar face as its new Athletic Director, Jimmy Maynord.
Maynord spent over 40 years working in various coaching and administrative roles throughout the Upper Cumberland, before semi-retiring in 2021. He said that his experience and knowledge of the area will help him in this new role.
“It’ll be a new endeavor for me, but I think, you know, like I said, I coached here at Upperman High School in the mid 90’s for about four or five years,” Maynord said. “So, I’m familiar with this community and the athletic programs. I’ve followed the athletic programs for several years and know a little bit about the community. I though it might be a good fit, so I accepted the position.
Maynord said the success of Upperman High athletics drew him to the position. Six Upperman programs advanced to state last season. Since retiring in 2021 as Cookeville High’s head football coach, Maynord said he has tried to stay busy, picking up a part time coaching position in Clay County. But Maynord said retirement was not keeping him active enough.
“I’m a guy that doesn’t golf, or I don’t fish, I don’t have any hobbies, so retirement wasn’t really good for me,” Maynord said. “I need to be doing something, and I thought maybe this might an opportunity to get more involved in athletics and give me a little more time to do things instead of just sitting around.”
The role of an athletic director can vary day-to-day and position-to-position, but Maynord said his main role will be an extra set of hands that coaches and administrators can rely on. This includes state-mandated paperwork for all the programs at Upperman, being at the games themselves as a representative and maintaining the quality of facilities.
As the fall sports seasons kick off and classes begin, Maynord said he is happy to be busy doing what he loves.
“I enjoy being around athletics, I enjoy the coaches, I enjoy the students. Just being around it. And being able to assist and help in any way that I can,” Maynord said.
