By Steve Flairty Kentucky Today
He works all day where balls are bouncing in a gym all around him. From there, until recently, he’d take a short drive to another gym, where there were more balls bouncing around for the next few hours.
You might say Clayton Winter was working two full-time jobs. He is the physical education teacher at Jessamine’s Wilmore Elementary School. And at the relatively short height of 6’4,” he was the starting center for the Asbury University basketball team, a division 3 school playing in the Collegiate Conference of the South Conference. All told, that’s a lot of students to teach and a lot of trips for him to run up and down the basketball court.
The time and the energy needed might seem unfathomable for most. “It’s about priorities,” the modest young man likes to say.
“It works well (doing both jobs),” Clayton said recently before the basketball season ended. Grinning, he noted that “I just haven’t had much time to do my weightlifting these days. It’s one of my favorite things.” Judging by his barrel-chested build, he’s done a lot of lifting over the years. A little time away probably won’t hurt him much.
Amazingly, Clayton takes graduate classes at night, too, working on his master’s degree. That, and he just started a basketball club at Wilmore Elementary. And, if you’re ready, he has been working hard at being the best husband possible to his wife, Meagan, since he married her in July.
Nobody will ever say Clayton Winter coasts through life.
At age 15, he had his own lawn mowing business in his hometown of Wilmore, and the exercise he got helped him keep in shape during basketball off-season. At West Jessamine High, he excelled as a hoops and academic star, and the 2019-20 West Jessamine ballers won the regional tourney and were set to appear in the state tournament.
Then the Covid epidemic hit. As it was for the other members of the team, it was a downer for Clayton. Kentucky’s iconic Sweet Sixteen tourney was called off and West Jessamine would have to wait for a future season to get back to the special event.
“It was the first time in ten years for West Jessamine, since Jarrod Polson (former UK player) played. It was a huge letdown,” said Clayton. “Not many kids get to do that.”
He wanted to keep playing basketball after graduating from high school. Fortunately, after looking over some other possible college playing opportunities, Clayton gained the opportunity to stay home in Wilmore and play for Asbury.
Looking back, the sting of the state tournament disappointment may have provided further motivation for Clayton to play basketball in college, and the sting likely had something to do with him playing as a graduate student this year. His wife, Meagan, was happy he decided to do so, even with him already working full-time. “Later on in life, he would look back and have regretted it if he hadn’t taken advantage of the opportunity,” she said.
Meagan knows something about pushing one’s limits, just as Clayton does. The Estill County native played basketball on Asbury’s women’s team until her graduation and currently teaches, along with coaching girls’ basketball, at Jessamine Middle School, in Nicholasville. Like Clayton, she is taking college graduate courses but found time to travel with Clayton on his road games this year. “We trust each other a lot, and basically whatever makes each other happy, we’re going to support it,” she said.
Clayton’s days at Wilmore Elementary start about 7:30 a.m. and end about 3 p.m. That is, unless there are after-school faculty meetings or other common teacher duties. It’s his first year after his teacher predecessor, Steve Sandberg, highly respected at the school, retired. Steve was happy to see Clayton get the position after he performed well under Sandberg’s tutelage.
“Clayton did his student teaching under with me from January 2024 to March,” said Sandberg. “When he was doing his solo time, I got a clear signal that I found the person to take over for me.”
Sandberg, after 40 years building his program, wanted someone he could count on to sustain his blueprint. “I knew after watching him teach my classes for two weeks he was the man for the job. His desire to get better every day impressed me!”
Sandberg passed his positives word along to the school’s principal, Monica Thompson, and after an impressive interview, Clayton secured the position. It has been a good fit for him and the school, according to Thompson. “He (Clayton) said his job would be his priority over basketball, and so it has not impacted us at all. He’s not missed meetings or after school activities. He is what I call a servant leader here.”
But Clayton surely must get tired, doesn’t he?
“I think that he has to be exhausted because he’s pulled in a lot of directions,” continued Thompson, “and then he approached me about doing a basketball club. I asked, ‘Do you have time?” Answering quickly with lots of his personal credibility, Clayton answered, “I’ll make it work.”
His advice in juggling all his responsibilities is this. “Put your marriage first,” he said. “Second, your job, then basketball. That way you don’t let any of the three down. If I went back to play ball at Asbury and it affected my marriage, it wouldn’t be worth it.”
Nobody will ever say Clayton Winter coasts through life.
Asbury’s coach, Will Shouse, attributes Clayton’s staying power to mental attitude, saying his “competitive edge is what drives him… in work, the classroom, and on court.”
Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of seven books: a biography of Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and six in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. Steve’s “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #5,” was released in 2019. Steve is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, a weekly NKyTribune columnist and a former member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Contact him at [email protected] or visit his Facebook page, “Kentucky in Common: Word Sketches in Tribute.” (Steve’s photo by Ernie Stamper)
That drive was especially seen on the hardwood while chasing rebounds, “my absolutely favorite part of the game,” he noted. “I’d much rather have 20 rebounds than 20 points.” Clayton once grabbed 32 rebounds in a game and explained his technique this way. “You have to know how to use your body to your strengths, and it’s having the will to ‘go get’ rebounds.”
Mark Whitworth, who directs athletics at Asbury, is effusive in his praise of Clayton:
Clayton has been a key contributor since joining our team as a freshman. He now holds the single-season (367) and single-game (32) rebounding record at Asbury. His tenacity and strength on the court are a direct reflection of his character and commitment. His love for the game and our men’s basketball program are evident in the way he competes and the sacrifices he’s made to play on this year’s team. Not many people have are willing to give what it takes to work full-time and play college basketball.
Clayton and his Asbury Eagles fought hard but went down to a 91-73 defeat in last Friday’s conference semi-finals postseason tournament against Maryville College (TN), ending his team’s year and his career at Asbury. Clayton had ten points and eight rebounds. He became only the second Asbury player ever to score 1000 points and rebounds in his career.
So, for now, the “Gentle Giant,” as his school principal likes to call him, will continue his job as a husband, gym teacher, basketball club director, graduate student, and… who knows what else?
And for sure, nobody will ever say Clayton Winter coasts through life.