Fred Willocks
Inducted 2026

Some coaches are remembered for their records. Others are remembered for the lives they changed.

Fred Willocks is firmly in the second group.

From the beginning, he built his life around athletics and education. A graduate of Maryville College and the University of Tennessee, he was a football player, wrestler, and competitor who understood the value of discipline and hard work.

His coaching journey took him through Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia, where he led teams to championships, built wrestling programs, and earned Coach of the Year honors. But his most lasting work came in Ware County.

Over 21 years, he helped shape programs and, more importantly, people. He served as defensive coordinator, junior varsity coach, and middle school athletic director. He established Ware County’s first wrestling program and helped build a strong foundation for strength and conditioning.

His teams found success, including an eighth-grade football team that went 22–1–1 with a season where the defense was never scored on, but that was never the main point. He also created opportunities beyond the field, including launching the P.E. Aide program to give students hands-on experience in leadership and teaching.

Coach Willocks believed athletics was a tool, one that could shape character, responsibility, and respect.

The Waycross-Ware County Sports Hall of Fame honors Fred Willocks for the generations of students he guided, mentored, and believed in.