After over a decade of working at Warren, Clayton has yet another accomplishment to put on his resumé. Marques Clayton, Athletic Director at Warren Central, has accepted the 2020 Athletic Director of the year award.
“When I first learned about receiving the award, I was definitely excited, but I was more excited for our school, our athletic department, for our student athletes, for our parents, because it’s not really about me. It’s like we always say, never me always we,” Clayton said.
Clayton has worked very hard for this prestigious award over many years. He has also had a lot of people, including Principal Shepler, help him get where he is today.
“I have to give a lot of credit to Rich Shepler, because [he] gave me the opportunity back in 2005 to work with him. When he became Principal in 2009, he asked me to go down to the athletic department and lead it,” Clayton said
He also is helped by many staff members throughout the building that have supported him along the way. They were very important factors into getting where he is today.
“I also have to give credit to the people I work with. Susan Downey, Jordan Feltner, Tiffany Coleman-Talley, our administrative team, Traci Bush, Courtney Burchett, Candy Handy-Ogle, all of our athletic tutors, and all of our faculty members,” Clayton said.
He loves working here at Warren and everything that the school has to offer. He loves all the support around the whole community.
“We have the greatest support team, we have the greatest faculty around. When people ask me what makes Warren a special place, it’s the people,” Clayton said.
He has so many great relationships with coaches and athletes, which he would not trade for anything. Ever since he came to Warren, the memories never stopped growing. He has also gone through many tough times at Warren when the teams were able to build back stronger.
“The moment that stands out the most is the year 2018. The reason 2018 stands out is because of what happened in 2017. In 2017, the way that school year ended, it was marked with tragedy. Our school and our community really went through some tough times. And then all of a sudden, basketball season came and we won multiple championships,” Clayton said
Clayton and the rest of the athletic department looks to continue their success. They are continuing to make decisions that benefit everybody to ensure the continuation of athletic success at this school.
“We are going to continue with the mindset that every day our goal and objective is to get better. We’re never going to be content with our accomplishments and our recognition. We’re never going to be content with our successes from the past. It’s a relentless pursuit of continuous improvement. We want to help our student athletes, over the course of four years, not only become better athletes, but to become better students and better people,” Clayton said.