By Kris Freeman
White House Football

Jim Grantham begins his 21st season as an assistant coach at White House, joining the staff in 1986. He serves as offensive coordinator, coaches offensive line and defensive backs, and teaches industrial cooperative education at WHHS.

He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in health and physical education, after transferring from Volunteer State, and he is a 1977 graduate of Gallatin High School, where he was a standout defensive tackle and named Most Valuable Lineman and All-Conference for his senior season in 1976.

Grantham was a student teacher at Hendersonville in 1982, coaching the defensive ends and assisting with the baseball team, and coached an All-Star baseball team that summer with current Blue Devil head coach Jeff Porter. He and Porter graduated Gallatin together and played one year under legendary head coach Calvin Short, now the freshman head coach at White House as a volunteer assistant.

He accepted a position at Gallatin in the fall of 1983 and was an assistant freshman football coach, then joined Porter at White House in 1986 under Bill Locke, and the two have been on the same sideline since.

His units have scored over 30 points in 77 games during his 20-year-span, with 10 of those coming in 1998 and eight more in 2004, both semifinal seasons. His offensive units have only been shut out four times in 19 years, and none since the midway point of the 1995 season.

Coach Grantham is a resident of Gallatin.

Q: What is the best part of being at White House?
A: I'd just say the best part is working with the kids and the coaches. The kids are always willing to work and the coaches are always willing to work, and that is what makes it special. The kids respond to anyone who is serious and dedicated about what they are doing and if you do things right, these kids are going to come through for you.

Q: What is your favorite part of coaching?
A: My favorite part is practice, and watching young boys grow into young men. It's special to see the development of a kid from his freshman year to his senior year. We all get to call plays and be involved in the aspects of the game, and just working together as a coaching staff - it's most rewarding watching kids do what you envision, and seeing it perfected.

Q: What's the toughest part of the job?
A: I hate watching the kids get injured, especially to a senior. Seeing kids who have worked their butts off for four years and to get hurt, that's tough. You always hope they get another chance, and it's very hard to stand back and watch when they don't.

Q: What's your favorite memory coaching at White House?
A: My favorite memories actually happen when I see the kids come back five and 10 years later, and see them doing well with wife, family and kids and being a productive part of the community. There's just so many on the field memories that it's hard to give just one game, but the state championship certainly comes to mind first. I have just enjoyed seeing the kids play well, even many times better than they were capable of.