ROY GRIFFIN, JR. & THE EFFINGHAM BULLDOGS: “V” is for Victory & Village
R
oy Griffin, Jr. is the founder and basketball director of the Effingham Bulldogs. He has also coached for the Effingham County Recreation & Parks Department, under the leadership of Athletic Director Clarence Morgan, for 13 years. Roy, an Effingham native, has long possessed a true heart for kids—to inspire, to mentor, to coach. “I feel I owe it to God, and then myself, to help when I can. He’s put it in my heart,” said Roy. The Bulldogs are Born About three years ago, Roy was motivated to start his own travel basketball organization, feeling that it would be a rewarding opportunity for kids in the community. And the Effingham Bulldogs were born. The Bulldogs began with two groups at the time: a varsity team and a fifth-grade team. Travel sports are usually played at a more competitive level than regular recreational sports. Over time, the program grew, and Roy recruited a variety of talent, ranging from fifth to eleventh grade. “Coaching and mentoring has always been my passion. I felt it was a good idea to give kids the opportunity to play a game that they love and to keep them occupied,” he said.
Roy is grateful to Clarence Morgan and staff for “providing facilities to practice and develop the players.” The season workouts usually begin in January. Prospective players are introduced to various drills and skillrelated evaluations. Regular practices commence, and tournaments normally begin in March. Roy coaches his eighth-grade group, but he is proud of his entire organization, especially after seeing all their growth and development over the years. “We had to learn how to lose before we could learn how to win,” he joked. Hard Work Has Its Reward The Bulldogs have become very familiar with winning. In fact, this season has been phenomenal: • In late March, they competed in the Inaugural BJ Classic Tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, where the ninth-grade boys’ team and 10thgrade girls’ team placed 2nd. • In April, the group participated in the Garden City Jam Fest in Augusta. There, the seventh-grade boys placed 2nd, and the ninth-grade boys won their first championship. • In early May, the teams traveled to
24 August/September 2021 | www.EFFINGHAMMAGAZINE.com
Jacksonville again to compete in the River City Classic; the seventh-grade boys placed 2nd, and the eighthgrade boys won the championship. • In mid-May, the Bulldogs competed in the Mega Hoops Session in Atlanta; both the eighth-grade and ninth-grade boys’ teams brought the championship home, while the 10thgrade boys placed 2nd. • Following all those wins, the teams went to a basketball “showdown” in Charleston, South Carolina. “My eighth, ninth, and 10th-grade boys and girls all won the championship in Charleston. That was three in a row for the eighth-grade boys and two in a row for the ninth-grade boys. That’s never happened in our organization. It was definitely something to be proud of,” Coach Roy declared. As a reward for winning the championship, the Bulldogs earned a free bid to select an upcoming tournament to participate in. They chose the USC Aiken Tournament, held at the end of July in Aiken, South Carolina. The Bulldogs recently hosted their own tournament in Springfield at the new Clarence E. Morgan Gymnasium. The sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade boys all
