Rickards announce return of Earl Hankerson as schools Athletic Director

On Friday, Rickards High School announced via Twitter that Earl Hankerson will be the school's new athletic director, returning to a role he held for seven years.

"I couldn't be more excited for the opportunity to get back to helping and supporting our students," Hankerson told the Democrat on Friday. "That's the most important part to me, I can put myself aside, as long as I'm able to help the students, I'm more than happy."

Hankerson was the AD at Rickards from 2011 to 2018, before being moved from his position. He remained with the school as the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) college readiness program coordinator for the last five years.

He will take over from Claudette Farmer, who has served as the school's AD since 2018.

Hankerson said he was hesitant to return at first, but his family supported him in returning to his role, which is all he needed to take the step back into the AD position.

"My wife and my kids just gave me all the support in making a decision to go through with this again," Hankerson said. "Those are my main support systems, and once I got their go-ahead, it was an easy decision at that point."

During his first tenure as Rickards AD, Hankerson hired Raiders head football coach Quiten Lewis and its boys' basketball team won the Class 3A state title in 2011 and finished twice as state runner-up in 2015 (5A) and 2018 (6A).

Hankerson has been teaching and coaching in Tallahassee for over 15 years. He initially joined Rickards in 2008 after roles at Griffin Middle School. While there, he coached the football team to two city championships in three years, as well as coaching the girl's basketball and track programs to city titles.

Last school year, Rickards football went 4-7, winning its district and earning a spot in Class 3S Region 1 playoffs, eventually losing to Pine Forest in the quarterfinals.

The boy's basketball program posed a 13-14 record last season, with the girl's program going 15-12. Both teams finished as district runner up and qualified for the state tournament. Both lost in the regional quarterfinal round.

Rickards softball went 11-3, its best finish in program history, eventually losing in the first round of the district playoffs. The Raiders baseball program went 8-16 during the spring.

Hankerson said that the support from the students and facility at the school alongside the community support is going to be vital in continuing to grow Rickards's athletics. He said it's important for the community and students to show up for the athletes when they are competing.

"We're definitely going to need all the support we can get," Hankerson said. "It takes a lot to run an athletic program, and one that's going to be successful and everybody's going to be proud of, but most importantly, probably above those, is the in-person support and coming out to see these young folks exercise their talents."

Hankerson's message to the Rickards community was simple, he wants everyone from alumni to current students to share the same pride.

"We want to make sure that we're bringing pride and respect to Rickards," Hankerson said. "It's all about one Rickards, one nation, that's the one thing we try to make sure we promote."

Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Long-time Rickards athletic director returning to role after 5 years