“This is the reason you lift all those weights.”
— Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells during a game as head coach of the NY Giants
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After months which have included offseason conditioning, working in the weight room, spring practice, summer camps and now preseason practice, the Apalachee High School football team has something special within its sights.
The Wildcats will begin their 2009 season Friday when the Monroe Area Purple Hurricanes make the short trek to Winder. This is what the players work for. They will finally step on the field again for a game that counts.
While the preseason scrimmage last week was nice, nothing beats an actual game. That is especially true for both AHS and Monroe Area as this will be the first of 10 Region 8-AAAA contests this fall.
AHS head coach Shane Davis is known for stressing hard work. From the weight room to the film room to the practice field, Davis is running at 100 percent at all times. It’s a big part of the reason, I believe, the Wildcats have been so successful in recent seasons.
Still a relatively young program in terms of history, AHS is now considered a perennial playoff contender and much of that credit goes to Davis and his core group of assistants who have been with him from day one. Yes, it takes quality players to be successful, but never underestimate the role Davis and his coaches have had in this process.
In many ways, I like to compare Davis with Bill Parcells, the old-line NFL coach who was about as no nonsense as they came. Davis is certainly easier to work with as area sports writers will tell you, but you would be hard pressed to find a more intense coach come Friday nights.
During one portion of last Friday’s scrimmage against Westminster, Davis had to call a timeout and you could almost see steam rising from his head.
Things were not being done correctly on the field by his team and the head coach was not pleased to be sure.
The Wildcats players have obviously responded to Davis and his methods. His motto of “outworking your opponent” is good, old-fashioned coaching. Perhaps that’s why his players don’t mind the hard work — they know it produces results.
As is the case with any preseason, there has been much talk, much hype, much anticipation for the start of 2009.
Big things are expected from the AHS football this fall but that certainly beats the opposite. If no one is expecting anything from you then you clearly have not established much of a tradition of winning games of late.
An improved Monroe Area will not be the pushover some hometown fans might expect or hope for. However, I feel confident Davis and his coaches will have the Widlcats ready for action when kickoff arrives.
No opponent is going to be overlooked including one that is trying to rebuild like Monroe Area.
The offseason and preseason work is complete for AHS. Now the fun part begins. It will be interesting to see just how far this season goes for the Wildcats.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. E-mail comments about this column to cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
