MACON, Ga. — Central Georgia is an area where family ties run deep as generation after generation go to schools here and return to watch their own kids play.
Nowhere is that more evident than at Mount de Sales Academy, where the Hatcher family has been attending and playing sports for decades. It's impossible to walk the halls of Mount de Sales and not know the legacy of the Hatchers -- one need only look at the school's sports hall of fame.
"Well, I don't think I have time to mention them all, but a lot of Hatchers have gone to school here. In fact, my son, who is in sixth grade here, will be the 5th generation to come through," Keith Hatcher said.
Keith Hatcher is the football coach and athletic director at MDS. He roamed the halls during the '90s as a baseball, basketball, and football player before playing two sports collegiality at Mars Hill College, now Mars Hill University.
"I was just always a MDS fan because my sister participated in athletics here, my cousin, Chris, participated in athletics here. So I was at every MDS football game as a kid. I was at every basketball game as a kid," Keith said.
But the Hatcher roots run even deeper that that. Keith's father, Ricky, played for Coach Mike Garvin, his first cousin, and led MDS to a 1970 state championship. The Hatcher family is so ingrained with the school's history that a Hatcher was even involved in the very first state championship at Mount de Sales. William "Duck" Hatcher, Keith's uncle, was on the 1966 state champion baseball team.
"As I grew older and started to understand the history that my family had here, it became more and more special for me to be a part of that," Keith said.
Keith and his cousin Chris are the most recent generation to graduate in the '90s and held their own for the family legacy. Both were named All-State in three sports and played collegiately. Chris was a two-time All-American at Valdosta State and now coaches at Samford. The pair coached together collegiately for 10 years, but still remember their high school days fondly.
"There's nothing like Friday night football. There's nothing like wearing the jerseys to school, going to the pep rallies and playing on Friday nights, so make sure you take full advantage of that," Chris Hatcher told athletes at Monday's Macon Touchdown Club meeting.
Keith said as long as MDS stands, at least one more generation of Hatchers will stand with it. His son Ace is in the sixth grade at Mount de Sales and his daughter Allie Kate is a second grader at St. Joseph's Catholic School and will later be a Cavalier.
Collectively, the Hatcher has at least 12 championships as either players or coaches as Cavaliers or coaching at another school.
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