Saint James athletic director Larry Ware wants to bring high caliber athletes to program
After the hiring of head football coach Aubrey Blackwell, Saint James announced Larry Ware as its new athletic director Monday afternoon effective May 1.
Officially in a new era of Trojan athletics, Ware wants to continue to push the goal of always having a championship program.
More: Saint James School hires assistant football coach Larry Ware as Athletic Director
“That intel (is) having the best athletes in each sport here at Saint James,” Ware said. “The kids of the Montgomery community that want to come to Saint James will have an opportunity to perform athletically as well as academically.
“That’s where it starts, the kids who can academically get here and do the things they can do to stay on the playing field...we will make sure they have an opportunity to be successful.”
Ware joined the Trojans staff in 2012 serving as an assistant football coach and head track coach. He will succeed Katie Barton, who has served as the athletic director since December 2020. Barton will continue as the head girls basketball coach, and also become the school's new head volleyball coach.
Head of School Dr. Larry McLemore said there was high volume of applicants for the AD position. When describing the process for this search, Ware’s resumé stood out amongst the other candidates after serving as AD at previous stops.
In 2002 he became the head football coach and AD at Carver High School and did the same at Robert E. Lee (now known as Percy Julian) from 2008-2012.
“Coach Ware is a proven leader of character who understands what it means to be a Saint James Trojan and to be part of our supportive school family,” Dr. Larry McLemore said. “He lives out our Trojan core values of character, commitment, courage, and community in all he does and will provide strong leadership for Saint James athletics. I am confident he will continue to elevate our athletic programs and advance our school in many ways, and I look forward to working alongside him in this endeavor.”
Is coach Ware still coaching football?
Coach Ware said it is a possibility that he will continue to coach with the football team. He plans on talking with coach Blackwell about his future on the sidelines soon.
“We will speak about what his future plans are with the team and if what I’m doing can marry and work. If he needs me I’ll be able to do what I do behind the scenes,” Ware said.
“Coach Blackwell brings a wealth of knowledge to the football game. We want to make sure we have energy. We bring that with our coaching expertise, the kids are going to be excited to play. And hopefully it will show on Friday nights.”
More: How Saint James School landed on Aubrey Blackwell as its next head football coach
Embracing the challenge
As a former Alabama Mr. Football honoree in 1986, Ware has a keen eye for talent. In his tenure as AD, he’s embracing the challenge on bringing in the best talent year-round.
A driving force for Ware accepting this position was the expectation behind upholding the school’s athletic standard.
“The level of athletics they have here creates a different on it’s own, Ware said. “The way the athletics is going here is at a tremendous rate with what Katie Barton has done in the past. My job is to start and not mess it up and see what we need to do in the future.”
“You have a vast amount of athletes in the city of Montgomery. Anybody can be Mr. Football these with all the talent we have across this state. It would be nice to have that here and once you get it you know you got it. It happens by luck sometimes so hopefully we can bring in athletes of that caliber whether it’s male or female.”
Jerry Humphrey III is a sports writer for the Montgomery Advertiser who covers area high school sports, Auburn recruiting and Alabama State athletics. Follow him on Twitter @jerryhump3.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Will Larry Ware still coach Saint James football after promotion?
