Cliff Shelton: Greater Atlanta Christian School
Shelton was inducted into the Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame in 2007.
Cliff Shelton is one of the winningest high school baseball coaches in Gwinnett County history. The longtime coach was inducted into the Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame in 2007.
In his 32 seasons as the head baseball coach at Greater Atlanta Christian, Shelton compiled an impressive 578-298 mark. He guided the Spartans to 13 region titles and 20 appearances in the state playoffs. GAC played in five state championship series (1987, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2014) and his teams made three trips to the state semifinals.
In 2013, the Gwinnett Dugout Club announced that its assistant coach of the year awards would be named in honor of Shelton.
In 2014, Shelton was named the Georgia Dugout Club Coach of the Year.
"He’s a great, great man and a great coach," Providence Christian coach Adam Cantrell told the Gwinnett Daily Post in 2014. "He’s humble. When he’s winning, he gives credit to the players. When he’s struggling, he’s always looking at himself and what he can do better. He’s just an ideal coach. He’s who I’ve always modeled the way I do things after.”
After retiring in 2014, he spent some time assisting his wife Kristy on the GAC volleyball team. He also coached some other sports such as junior varsity golf.
He was inducted into the Gwinnett Sports Hall of Fame and helped a wealth of players get into college.
Shelton never took credit for his success. Instead of dwelling on wins, he said the relationships he built were the most important.
“It never has been about winning, losing and championships, that’s never been as big of a deal for me,” Shelton told the Gwinnett Daily Post. “Maybe when I was younger and didn’t know any better.
"The reality is I’ve been blessed beyond belief by the young men who I’ve had the privilege of coaching. The coaches I’ve worked with, the friends I’ve made, that’s what means the most to me.”
Some information in this article was used from the Gwinnett Daily Post.