Not that the Calvary Day football team needed any more motivation on the eve of the state playoffs, but the Cavaliers now have more to play for than the pursuit of a state title.
Mark Stroud, who has led the program for a total of 16 years and become one of the winningest coaches in Georgia history, announced Tuesday that he will step down at the end of the season.
Stroud, 60, said he spent a long time evaluating his life and it was time for a change. He wanted to make sure to leave the program in good hands with 
current offensive coordinator Jason Cameron, who has six years of head coaching experience and will be his successor.
“I put a lot of thought into what this next step of life looks like,” Stroud said following a news conference at the Calvary Day gymnasium attended by his coaching staff, players, school administration and others. “I have a lot of passions in life I care about, things I’m really interested in being involved in, so I thought about those things and thought about what this program really needs from A to Z.
“It’s a big job, and there’s a lot of things that you really need to take care of well. Just putting those things on the scales and saying can I give to it what I’ve always given to it, and is it going to take away from things I know I need to take care of in other areas of my life? That was kind of the weighing thing for me. I’ve reflected on all of the things coaching has meant to me.”
PHOTO: Mark Stroud - Calvary Media Department Liza Youmans
Stroud said he feels great – “I feel 30” – and plans to stay involved with Calvary Day School in some capacity that hasn’t been determined. “I’ve got a lot of gas left in the tank,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of his family, with his wife Pam and grandson Beck at his side at the news conference. Mark and Pam started dating at age 15 at Swainsboro High School, and they’ve been together 45 years, so he knows about long-term commitment. They have three children and three grandchildren. They have parents back in their native Swainsboro, Stroud said.
“I would not be standing here, trust me, I would not be this guy if it wasn’t for (Pam). She’s been the strength,” he said. “She’s stood by me in the best and worst of times, in this profession and outside of it. I’m very blessed and thankful.”
There have been many good times in Stroud’s 33-year career as a head coach as he has compiled an overall record of 272-110 (.712), which ranks 20th all-time in the state, according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association.
Larry Campbell, who coached Lincoln County from 1972-2013, heads the list at 477-85-3 (.847). Marist’s Alan Chadwick (441-80-0, .846) in second overall and the leading active coach in his 40th season since 1985.
Bill Murdock of Terrell Academy (284-152-5, .858), a GIAA program, is the only other active coach ahead of Stroud, per the ghsfha.org website.
Stroud has 11 region titles to his credit, with four consecutive including this season in GHSA Region 3-3A as the Cavaliers went 9-1 overall and 9-0 in the region in the regular season.
He coached at Toombs County from 1992-2007 (120-60) and captured five region championships in 16 seasons. Stroud broke up two tenures at Calvary (2008-15 and 2017-present for 16 years total, a 148-43 mark and six region titles) with the 2016 campaign at his alma mater in Swainsboro.
Cameron, 38, called it an honor and a privilege to be selected as the next head football coach.
“On top of taking over a program the caliber of Calvary, you’re taking over for an absolute legend,” said Cameron, hired as the offensive coordinator in 2023. “He’s a better person and a leader than he’s ever been a coach, and that’s saying a lot because he’s one of the best coaches ever to step foot on a field. It’s an honor for me. I’m hoping to do half as good as he can do, and I think it would be a success.
PHOTO: Mark Stroud & Jason Cameron - Calvary Media Department Liza Youmans
“He’s taught me so much in my little bit of time here. We’ve had a relationship before I got here,” said Cameron, noting they had coached in all-star games together. “These two years have made me such a better person, such a better football coach. I’m forever indebted to it.”
Cameron, a native of New Jersey, already has been a head coach in Savannah at Jenkins High (2017-19), where he guided the Warriors to two Class 3A state quarterfinals, one semifinal and two Region 3-3A titles.
He spent the next three seasons in charge at Vidalia (2020-22), achieving one Region 2-2A title in 2020 for an overall record of 49-22 (.690).
When Stroud hired him, he was looking to fill an opening on his staff, not necessarily the head coach in-waiting. The more he got to know Cameron as a smart guy and a family guy, Stroud said, he could envision a great fit if and when the head coach left.
“(Cameron is) all the things you need to be for here,” Stroud said. “He’s going to be phenomenal here. He’s going to be great. That’s just so much easier when you feel like you’ve got a guy who is going to continue to walk down the same path and lead the program in the same way. He’ll be different but similar.”
Stroud has been preparing for a transition, saying, “I’ve given everything I’ve got to this year. I’m just evaluating the following year.” Cameron said while Stroud is certainly in charge, he allows his coaches to coach, and the coordinator has been “essentially” running the offense to his liking.
Cameron marveled at Stroud’s leadership and said that he wished his 8-year-old son Jaxon – in attendance with Cameron’s wife Brooke, the Calvary volleyball coach – could someday play for a coach like Stroud.
“He does the best job at giving these kids life lessons and messages daily throughout our practices, throughout our season, in our offseason,” Jason Cameron said.
He expects the players to rally around Stroud because he “means a ton to them.” The Cavaliers have a first-round bye in the GHSA Class A-3A Private School playoffs this week before playing at home on Friday, Nov. 22, against the winner of Mount Paran Christian and Greater Atlanta Christian.
Stroud is hoping for a four-win run to the state crown, with the title game on Dec. 18 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. He guided the 2013 Calvary squad to the Class A Private championship game.
So after Tuesday’s emotional press conference, the Cavaliers were back in their normal routine.
“I told the guys, when we walk out (of the gym) that no one hugs or shakes my hand about this right here,” Stroud said of the special assembly. “This is over. We’ve done this. We’ve got to get ready for practice and get ready for our next game.”
But he did make time to be sentimental and introspective before that exit, talking about the impact a coach and a program can have on generations beyond wins and losses.
“I’ve been a head coach for 33 years,” Stroud said. “The greatest thing I can say to come out of that is building relationships with players and coaches and families, just the process of helping young men be better young men, and helping guys get one from place to another and a better place in life. That’s what I’ve cared about more than anything else.
“Every year I’ve realized more and more the whole thing about helping guys be better men in all kinds of areas, in every area of life. If you can do that, then it’s a success. People will forget all the other stuff. Those people you have an impact on, it’ll impact them forever, you hope. It’s certainly impacted me.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy Nathan Dominitz, Calvary Day School, and Calvary Day School Communciations Department Liza Youmans
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