Shane Davis is now in his fifth season as head coach of the Apalachee High School football program. However, even Davis admits that the five years have moved rather quickly.
“It doesn’t seem seem like that long,” the coach said Sunday night after spending the weekend preparing for Madison County. “We’ve come a long way. We are very pleased with our kids and what they have accomplished.”
The accomplishment last Friday was the Region 8-AAAA title, the first in school history for Apalachee. For Davis, his coaches and players, it was the result of years of hard work.
Teams don’t reach moments like this overnight. It’s something Davis knows all to well.
COLUMN: Region title a result of long, grueling hours of work
Building momentum the past three seasons by finishing in the upper tier of their their region, the Wildcat players work as hard as anyone in the offseason. Davis puts a strong emphasis on weight training and believes in a simple, but effect motto: “Good things happen as a result of hard work.”
In watching the Wildcats this season, you can see the evidence of those hours spent in the weight room. The linemen have cleared the way for a stable of running backs and the defense has been stout throughout the first eight games.
Having solid weeks of preparation for each game is also something Davis stressed. The AHS coach once said he may not know more Xs and Os than other coaches, but he believes he can outwork his counterparts.
Still, going into 2009 the odds on favorite to win 8-AAAA was Loganville. The Red Devils were the defending champion and had the talent to repeat.
However, early losses took some of the luster off the game between the schools by the time they met although the teams did engage in a contest for the ages.
I must admit I was one of two media members to predict the Wildcats would win 8-AAAA. It was not a hometown pick, rather I knew the talent that AHS would put on the field and, quite frankly, I knew Davis. In the end, I would take him anyday leading my team.
“We felt coming in with the number of kids and coaches we had back, we had a good chance,” Davis said. “Things have gone our way.”
Indeed they have. Yet, there are more goals to meet before all is said and done in 2009 for the Apalachee High School Wildcats.
Winning region is a big goal, that’s for certain. However, bigger prizes await.With this group of players and coaches and community support, don’t be surprised to see even bigger things accomplished before all is said and done.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. E-mail comments about this column to cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
In watching the Wildcats this season, you can see the evidence of those hours spent in the weight room. The linemen have cleared the way for a stable of running backs and the defense has been stout throughout the first eight games.
Having solid weeks of preparation for each game is also something Davis stressed. The AHS coach once said he may not know more Xs and Os than other coaches, but he believes he can outwork his counterparts.
Still, going into 2009 the odds on favorite to win 8-AAAA was Loganville. The Red Devils were the defending champion and had the talent to repeat.
However, early losses took some of the luster off the game between the schools by the time they met although the teams did engage in a contest for the ages.
I must admit I was one of two media members to predict the Wildcats would win 8-AAAA. It was not a hometown pick, rather I knew the talent that AHS would put on the field and, quite frankly, I knew Davis. In the end, I would take him anyday leading my team.
“We felt coming in with the number of kids and coaches we had back, we had a good chance,” Davis said. “Things have gone our way.”
Indeed they have. Yet, there are more goals to meet before all is said and done in 2009 for the Apalachee High School Wildcats.
Winning region is a big goal, that’s for certain. However, bigger prizes await.With this group of players and coaches and community support, don’t be surprised to see even bigger things accomplished before all is said and done.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. E-mail comments about this column to cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
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