Members of the Clarke Central High School girls varsity soccer team pose for a photo in the CCHS Competition Gym during the OMG Spring Media Day on Feb. 21. Head girls varsity soccer interim coach Chris Hulse assumed the position after it became available during the 2025-26 season. “There’s an amount of being a good teammate that means filling a need to the best of your ability, and I don’t know what the right move would have been other than for me to step into (this role),” Hulse said. Photo by Kye Streetman
Athens Youth Development Initiative Director Chris Hulse discusses the organization’s purpose and its goals moving forward.
Variety Editor Adah Hamman: What is the Athens Youth Development Initiative?
Athens Youth Development Initiative Director Chris Hulse: (The YDI involves) hundreds of children a year participating in free or (reduced-cost programs). (We have) volleyball, basketball and soccer (leagues). On top of that, we have fine arts camps (and) we (also) did book clubs this past summer. It’s a lot, but (in summary), the YDI is there to provide positive, structured activities for the youth in Athens-Clarke County, while at the same time attacking and, as much as we can, removing the cost barrier. Money should never be the reason a child isn’t able to do something.
AH: How did you get involved with the YDI?
CH: The athletic directors at (Cedar Shoals High School) and (Clarke Central High School), (Dr. Jon Ward and L’Dreco Thomas), respectively, had (proposed) the YDI in (year), and we had a conversation about them needing someone to take it from (a) proposal to where it is (now). It really started with (them being) like, “Hey, here’s a bunch of building blocks. Go.”
AH: What was the biggest challenge you encountered in getting the organization to where it is now?
CH: Time. Everything has an answer, everything has a solution and most things can be mitigated or made more efficient through organization, but (it takes) a short-term skillset of knowing how to manage what’s in front of you, and being able to plan and prepare for contingencies. There’s a lot of institutional knowledge (at the YDI) now, (which) makes (everything go) much smoother.
Athens Youth Development Initiative Director Chris Hulse, the Clarke Central High School head girls varsity soccer interim coach, speaks to players during a game in Death Valley Field at Billy Henderson Stadium on Feb. 24. Hulse began his involvement with the YDI in (year) and became the director in (year). “(My job includes) a lot of managing day-to-day and making sure that things are organized, because none of the things I do are things that cannot receive the appropriate amount of attention,” Hulse said. Photo by Cooper Jones
AH: What’s your favorite part of your job?
CH: The community. I believe that I was uniquely situated in order to fulfill the role that I did, because I’d spent five years teaching at (CSHS) while being a head coach at (CCHS), and to Dr. Ward and Thomas’ recollection, I’m the only head coach to ever cross over like that. That allowed me to deeply invest in the East side of the (Athens) community (while) staying invested in the West side of our community, (too). (That) enabled me to connect with each campus (and) school community, and see both the positives and the challenges that face (them). The challenges that face (Howard B. Stroud Elementary School) are wildly different from the challenges that face (Bettye Henderson Holston Elementary School), but they’re all kids from our community. They all deserve the same things, and I get the unique opportunity to connect with and build relationships with (everyone).
AH: Is there a specific program in the YDI that you’re most proud of?
CH: The fine arts (program) was outside of the scope of what (the YDI) originally set out to do, (but) as a kid (who) did both sports and theater, it (included) a personal element to me. The idea is (that) every kid should have a thing they can participate in, and not every kid wants to play basketball. That really is (our) target: that every child in (the Clarke County School District) has something, that they have the opportunity to engage in in an extracurricular fashion.
AH: How do you ensure that the YDI is accessible to everyone?
CH: In one of (the YDI’s) fine arts camps, (we) had a child that was in an adapted elementary classroom that had a one-to-one paraprofessional that worked with her directly. I got the parents’ permission to review the child’s documentation, and (we) covered her (paraprofessional’s) salary to come work with her over spring break, and paid her the same (amount) that anything else would have times a half. If we start from that: (the) lens that everybody matters, everybody’s experience matters and everybody has a contribution, we can find a way for everyone to be involved.
(That) enabled me to connect with each campus and see both the positives and the unique challenges that face (them). The challenges that face (Howard B. Stroud Elementary School) are wildly different from the challenges that face (Bettye Henderson Holston Elementary School), but they’re all kids from our community. They all deserve the same things, and I get the unique opportunity to connect with each campus and build relationships with (everyone).
AH: What impact do you hope the organization has on kids within the community?
CH: We did (book clubs) during the summer, where we provided kids with copies of books and volunteers (came in) that read, had circles and would discuss (the books) with them. When you feed back into your community, it’s massive. I think that what we’re going to see is those fourth and fifth graders in that book club, when they’re 11th and 12th graders, are going to want to go back and do the same thing, because they’re going to remember the impact it had on them.
AH: What are your goals for the YDI moving forward?
CH: I hope in three to five years that we have strengthened the things that (we) do. (By) that point in time, we should be able to see an impact on the greater community as a whole. There is a lot of research about the impacts of youth development and the outcomes for children, so there’s a lot of things that we might see in several years. So, I’m hoping that the outcomes are what we’ve hoped for and that the program is healthy and continuing to move forward.
