From student to coach: KG impacts the next generation

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Ian McMillin/The Scroll

Coach KG looks toward the stands at the Shelby County Jamboree at Houston High School. KG officially coached his first track meet as head coach on Friday, March 6, 2020.

In his history with White Station, Kevaughn Griffith, or “KG,” has held several positions. But his most recent promotion to head track coach has been 14 years in the making.

After graduating from White Station in 2010 as a two-time state champion and a school record holder in the 110-meter hurdles, KG went on to run Division One track at the University of South Carolina. In 2011, he moved back to Memphis and began volunteering with the Spartan team but officially rejoined the Spartan family as staff member and assistant coach in 2014. With many accolades under his belt, KG brings a winning atmosphere back to his alma mater.

“My four years at White Station were really impactful on my life, and so to now be… a part of that experience for people that are going through high school now is really special for me,” KG said. 

Without even completing his first season, KG already holds the respect any coach needs to be successful.

“I think what KG is doing is unlike any other coach that I’ve been under,” Luke Nalos (11) said. “He’s really built up this program; we have a lot of talent, and we have a lot of respect for him right now.”

As the head track and field coach, KG’s goals include winning as many city and state championships as possible, but success is not strictly a measure of how many plaques and trophies you bring home一it’s also about how well you’ve prepared the athletes for the future.

“I know that White Station has always had a reputation of being a college preparatory high school, and so my goal as a head track coach is to make our track program a college preparatory track program,” KG said. 

With his promotion to head coach, KG has come full circle from being the mentee to the mentor.

“It means a lot to me that I get to do this here. I wouldn’t feel nearly the same about what I get to do anywhere else because this is my school…my team, my program,” KG said. “For me, this is giving back to a program and to a time in my life that I feel like gave so much to me.”