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The longtime South Caldwell and Alexander Central football coach retired from teaching and coaching earlier this year. He said he’s not planning to get involved in high school football as an assistant coach this fall but hasn’t ruled it out in the future.

For the last 30 years, Carter has been a mainstay in the area football scene. He played for South Caldwell in the 1980s. He was a standout running back and earned a scholarship to Lees McRae. After earning his teaching degree, he returned to Hudson where he was an assistant football coach between 1994 and 1998 under Dan Hardee.

“I played running back in high school and college,� Carter said. “I started coaching offensive line; the next year, Dan moved me to receivers. Then, the next year, I went to defense and coached linebackers and then I became the defensive coordinator.�

He said that diverse experience prepared him for being a head coach.

“Even now, I feel comfortable coaching any position,� Carter said. “I think, to be a good head coach, you have to know every position.�

After a brief stint at Lenoir-Rhyne, Carter was back at South as the school’s new head football coach in 2000. He stayed in that position until 2015. After that, he left for Alexander Central.

Seizing the moment

The early days at the helm of the Spartans are still among the most memorable for Carter. Part of that is because it was his alma mater. Another part was because he assembled a team that built a new culture of football success at South. He said those accomplishments still stand out as some of his most satisfying.

After getting the call to come back to South, Carter said his first call was to former quarterback Scott Parham.

“We played together when we were young,� he said. “Parham probably threw me my first touchdown pass. Truth be known, I think I spiked the ball, and it got called back.�

Parham became Carter’s offensive coordinator. Cater leaned on the Wing-T formation so it could adapt to his players regardless of the personnel he had from year to year.

“I didn’t want to change my system every year, I wanted my system to adapt to the players,� Carter said. “We got every VHS tape we could find on teams that ran the Wing-T. … We spent the whole summer doing that.�

By the time Carter’s original group of freshmen graduated four years later, the team won its first playoff game.

“They turned the culture at South Caldwell around,� Carter said. “That was a special time.�

The coaching brotherhood

Parham was the first in a long line of standout assistant coaches who worked under Carter over the years.

“You’re only as good as your assistant coaches because you can’t coach every position,� Carter said. “You’ve just got to put a good plan together and put the best staff possible out there. I think the brotherhood of that coaching staff is a huge piece of the head coaching puzzle.�

Carter retired with a track record of success. When he took over at South Caldwell, the Spartans weren’t known as a football school. But that first season, there was a glimmer of hope.

“We won four or five games that first year,� Carter said. “Before that I think we had only won one game in three years.�

The next year, though, didn’t go as well.

“I tell everybody to this day, the most valuable year of my career was year number two at South Caldwell,� Carter said. “I got hit right in the face that next year. We won one football game.�

Over the next decade and a half, South Caldwell won two conference titles and had four seasons with 10 or more wins. Carter left the school with a record of 104-77.

In his second year at Alexander Central, the Cougars won a conference championship. He posted 57 wins in nine seasons in Taylorsville, making him the second-winningest coach in school history.

Carter was also chosen to coach in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas twice, with the most recent nod in 2024.

In the classroom

Carter said his biggest piece of advice for young coaches is to take their teaching career as seriously as they take coaching.

“You’re an educator first,� he said. “Dan (Hardee) always told me, ‘If you can teach, you can coach.’�

For Carter, taking his teaching job seriously is part of building a strong culture. He believes when students see coaches take teaching responsibilities seriously, it communicates the importance of giving their best effort in everything.

“Not only that, it shows your co-workers that you’re teaching with that you’re serious about your teaching. You’re not just a football coach,� he said.

For Carter, the most critical part of teaching, like coaching, is the relationships and rapport he built with his students. He said winning games is nice, but his biggest success stories have more to do with people.

“That’s my biggest, proudest accomplishment is to be able to be blessed to be so involved with so many people and give them a fair, honest opportunity,� Carter said.

He has a lot of faith in the next generation.

“I’m glad I didn’t have cellphones growing up,� Carter said. “They have a lot more challenges and we’ve just got to figure out as adults and leaders how to help these students navigate these challenges. That’s on us.�

Looking ahead

Carter has already been contacted by other area coaches gauging his interest in being an assistant after retirement.

“I think what I’m going to do is take a season off and study the game,� Carter said. “Study what my approach has been and how I can fix it, kind of like year two at South Caldwell.�

He is doing some coaching and teaching at Athletes Lab in Maiden. He is also helping his sister out with her restaurant and food truck, Anywhere’z Fine BBQ in Hudson.

“I’ve kind decided to take a summer off and enjoy some things,� Carter said. “I think I might make a very good assistant coach one day, but right now, I’m going to take a little time off and enjoy it and see where God is going to lead me in my next journey.�