Collins retiring after long career in coaching

David Collins began his coaching career before he even earned his high school diploma.

Now 36 years later, Collins is retiring from the profession.

The veteran coach, including 15 as a head coach, the last three at Ariton, and one of a handful to coach at both Dothan and Northview, announced his retirement as a teacher/coach Monday night at an Ariton football banquet.

Collins plans to return full-time to his taxidermy business, another of his professions. He will remain as a teacher at Ariton through the school year.

“I have coached just about all my life and I will still stay close to the game, but this is something me and my wife (Beth) have talked about and feel this is the right time to retire,” Collins said late Tuesday night.

“My wife has sacrificed a lot with all my long hours and there are some other things I would like to do. I want to get back to my own business and be my own boss.”

With head coaching stops at Zion Chapel (twice), Houston County and Ariton, Collins has a career record of 78-77 in 15 years, including 22-12 in his three years at Ariton.

He also guided Houston County to a 24-19 record in four seasons (2002-05) and Zion Chapel to a 32-46 record with three playoff teams over eight seasons in two coaching stints (1978-80 and 1992-96).

Six of his teams reached the state playoffs and another won eight games, but didn’t make the playoffs.

Collins has also served as assistant coach at Dothan, his alma mater, Selma, Pike County, Northview and Houston County.
“The relationships with the players that have developed over the years will always be special to me,” Collins said. “Having won in every situation was fun. I have coached in Class 6A, 1A, 2A and 3A and was part of success at every level.”

Collins began coaching when he was a senior at Dothan High School in the spring of 1972.

Coach N.K. Jenkins needed help at Young Junior High School in Dothan and Collins volunteered his services. He was given the role as defensive coordinator.

Collins, despite attending Wallace College then Troy State at the time, coached at Young from 1972-75.

He also served as press box coach for Dothan High’s state runner-up teams in 1974 and 1975 under Bobby Sirmon and Phillip Creel.

After graduating from Troy, Collins was a student teacher/coach at Zion Chapel in the spring of 1976, serving alongside Wayne Grant and Leavy Boutwell.

In the fall of 1976, he was named defensive coordinator at Zion Chapel. He became the Rebels’ head coach two years later in 1978 and led the program for three years.

In 1981, he became offensive coordinator at Selma under Willard Whitcomb. A year later, Creel hired Collins back to Dothan and he remained on staff the next year when Jim Golden took over at DHS.

The 1983-84 staffs at Dothan included eventual head coaches Jimmy Addison and Emory Latta.

In 1985, Collins got out of coaching to pursue his taxidermy business, a venture he has had at his home in Coffee County. He was the Alabama state taxidermy champion in both 1987 and 1989 and was president of the Alabama Taxidermy Association in 1989.

He returned to coaching in 1992 at Zion Chapel and was there through 1996. In 1997, he was hired by Tommy Wasden at Pike County.

Two years later, he joined Latta’s staff at Northview and coached there two years before becoming an assistant coach in 2001 with Chip Harris at Houston County.

He was elevated to head coach a year later in 2002 after Harris left for a head coaching job at Marbury. Collins served as the Lions’ head coach until 2006 when he became head coach at Ariton.

Throughout his career, Collins has worked with a lot of coaches who are now in the Wiregrass Hall of Fame, including close friend Ronnie Mendheim at Houston County.

“I was fortunate that I was tutored by a lot of great coaches and worked with a lot of great coaches,” Collins said. “It helped me a lot.”

Ariton athletic director Josh Herring said the school is losing a “classy guy.”

“We hate to lose him,” Herring said. “He has worked hard, both on and off the field. He has helped improve our facilities and he produced winning seasons all three years. He was a good guy to work with and a good role model for our kids.”

Herring said the school will start the process of hiring a new head coach when school resumes in January and that they hope to have a new coach in place by March.