wildstangs
08-15-2010, 08:50 AM
It’s about winning, sure. That’s pressure on any football coach.
But there can be factors that add to the burden of the head coach.
n How about being so good that everyone, from the media to MTV, wants a piece of your team? Your task is finding the right balance between enjoying the limelight and not stumbling out of it.
n There’s the coach who took over a successful program that immediately snapped a 10-year playoff streak and was affected by off-the-field problems. What pressure does he put on himself to right the ship?
n What about taking over a program that has dropped a classification, kindling hopes of a return to its storied history rather one that has produced four head coaches in five seasons?
n Finally, a coach who took over a program on the rebound and saw his first team, hurt by key injuries, miss the playoffs?
Here are four stories about coaches feeling a bit of pressure before even the first snap.
WARREN’S TASK: DO IT AGAIN, THIS TIME WHILE WEARING A BULL’S EYE
Steve Warren achieved a career goal last fall, when the Abilene High eagles claimed the Class 5A Division II state championship.
But Warren got a lot more than just what he wanted following the Eagles’ 28-17 victory over Katy in the state final on Dec. 19 in San Antonio.
“Behind the scenes, the media attention has just been phenomenal all spring,” Warren said. “Way different than any season that we’ve had since I’ve been here, and I guess rightfully so. In talking with other coaches, they all say the same thing: There’s all kinds of people that want a piece of you about something. It’s been that way all spring and all summer.”
The 2009 celebration stretched well into 2010, with the team banquet in February and presentation of championship rings in late March. By then, it was practically time for the start of spring practice.
Warren said the key was to maintain balance between celebrating the achievement and moving on with life.
“What we’ve tried to do is not let that become a grind but let the kids enjoy it,” he said. “I get so many people who are experts, I guess, telling me how to handle this,
“The bottom line is I want these kids who were part of it to enjoy everything that has to do with it because it’s so special. I think that’s the best thing to do. I think our kids have had fun with it, I think our school has had fun with it and we’ll continue to.”
With the start of a new season fast approaching, the Eagles have continued drawing attention. Abilene High is ranked No. 1 in the nation — forget state rankings — by one website and No. 3 by two others. The Eagles will also play on national television on Sept. 16 when they host Tampa (Fla.) Plant.
And every team on the schedule would dearly love to be the one to knock off the reigning champs.
“We got a lot of work done knowing full well that we’re going to get everybody’s best shot when it comes to the fall,” Warren said. “Hopefully, that’ll equate into another 16-week season. That’s our goal, that’s what we’ve worked really hard for and we’re still working really hard toward that and we’re looking forward to it.”
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As clichéd as it may sound, Warren wants the Eagles to take the 2010 season one game at a time.
“I don’t think we can start the season off talking about state championships at all,” he said. “Obviously, a lot of people are going to want to do that. What I’ve been telling people — and our kids understand this — is this team we’ve got right now coming up is not a state championship team. Yet. We’ve got some players on the team that happened to be a part of the state championship team.
“Hopefully, we can mold and shape this one into a state championship contender, but we’ve got a long way to go. Being able to draw on kids who have that experience and have that ring on their finger and can call themselves state champions, I think that’s invaluable. There are only two teams in 5A that cam do that, us and (Division I champ Euless) Trinity, and that’s an experience that we need to be able to draw from when the time come.”
SAM WALLER
SLAUGHTER OUT TO REWARD SWEETWATER COMMUNITY
When he arrived at Sweetwater in 2009, after completing turnaround projects at Hearne and Clyde, Craig Slaughter made one thing clear: he had no intention of turning the Mustangs around.
Before his arrival, Sweetwater had made 22 playoff appearances the previous 25 years — including nine straight from 2000-2008 — and had consistently been one of the most successful football programs in the Big Country. All Slaughter wanted to do was continue that tradition.
Unfortunately for Slaughter, however, that didn’t quite happen.
Instead, he saw a young Mustangs team struggle on the field and had several players find trouble off it, shattering the high hopes he had for his debut season. The Mustangs lost their first five games under Slaughter before finally beating a one-win Breckenridge team for their only victory, and allegations of gang activity surrounding several of his players added even more unnecessary distractions.
But with a new season, comes a clean slate. And Slaughter said he’s determined to make the 2009 campaign a distant memory.
“I did not move here to get my butt whipped, so through the spring, the summer and two-a-days, me, my staff and these kids were all focused on making sure this program gets back to how it’s always been,” he said.
And though a 1-9 season is as rare in Sweetwater as cotton and wind turbines are common, Slaughter said most of the pressure he’s feeling to get that done is internal. The Sweetwater community, he said, has been nothing but supportive.
“The community has been outstanding. I’m sure people think, ‘Winning one game in Sweetwater, my gosh, I feel bad for that guy,’ but this administration and this community has been absolutely awesome,” Slaughter said. “I very much appreciate that because nobody’s harder on a coach than himself.
“I don’t feel the pressure as much as I know this town deserves a good product on the field. I want that first for my kids because our kids have worked, but I want those people that go out of their way to watch the Mustangs play ... driving away satisfied with the effort our kids put forth and how we executed, and that’s win or lose.”
That didn’t necessarily happen every week last year, when a perfect storm of ingredients contributed to less than stellar results. Along with the team’s youth and a few players’ off-the-field issues, Slaughter changed the Mustangs offense from the wishbone they had been running for decades to the I-formation — the offense he used to help Clyde to its first outright district title in more than 50 years.
The result was a transition that was tougher than even Slaughter anticipated.
But heading into his second season, Slaughter said that’s not something he, or Sweetwater fans, will have to worry about.
“Year 2, there’s such a huge difference, just in the terminology, the system that you run and just the quality of repetitions you have,” he said. “You’re doing way less talking through each play or scenario because now we’ve done that. From Day 1, you’re just kind of polishing things up instead of installing things, and that makes a big difference.”
Slaughter said he believes that difference could show up in yet another turnaround season.
“Last year, I know we were a big disappointment, and I’m hoping we flip that thing all the way around and we are a huge surprise this year,” he said. “We’re not selling our kids or our program short. ... I truly believe if we play good, hard-nosed football and we’re healthy and doing the things that we need to do, we’re going to have a chance to factor in the (District 5-3A) race. But it’s definitely not going to be easy.”
DANIEL YOUNGBLOOD
PRESSURE NOTHING NEW TO FREEMAN
In some respects, Steve Freeman may have been the ideal choice to take the reins in Breckenridge — a small school with a storied history but a growing reputation as being a tough gig for football coaches.
Freeman has been there and done that.
Having spent 12 years as the head coach at pressure-packed Brownwood, Freeman produced 10 playoff teams in one of the most intense environments in Texas high school football.
“We’re not looking for a first-year honeymoon,” said Freeman, who resigned from Brownwood in 2008 and spent 2009 as the offensive coordinator at Odessa Permian. “In this day and time, I don’t care if you’re in Breckenridge or Odessa or anywhere, you still have to do a good job of selling the program and what the work aspect does for you.
“Programs that are winning are the programs that are working — that’s the bottom line. If someone (lucks) out and ends up with a super-talented team one year, that’s one thing. But there’s a difference between having a good team and having a good program.”
Replacing David Fambrough, who was reassigned following last season, Freeman becomes the fourth head coach at Breckenridge in five years.
Stan Howard, the last head coach to guide Breckenridge to the playoffs in 2005, was replaced a year later by Jeff Berry after finishing 6-4. Berry left after just one season, after which Fambrough posted back-to-back 1-9 records while playing in a brutal 3A district.
The stretch has been difficult for longtime Buckaroo fans, who have seen their team reach the playoffs 38 times, including six trips to the state finals, of which they won five.
“Anything that has happened until Jan. 4, is none of my business,” said Freeman, referring to the day he began work at Breckenridge. “I know how many games they won last year and the year before. But whatever they’ve done doesn’t matter to us right now. We’re moving forward on the calendar.”
Not that Freeman is blind to the expectations.
Aside from his arrival on campus, the program’s history, combined with a drop to Class 2A and a large number of returning starters have the community more excited about football than it has been in years.
“There’s a lot of anticipation here in Breckenridge,” Freeman said. “The town is excited and our kids are excited. And truthfully, there’s a want and a need for this team to start carrying the flag for Breckenridge again, and I intend for that to happen.
“But our approach isn’t like it’s a life or death situation. Our approach is to try hard enough to do it and get it done.”
And according to Freeman, “trying hard” is what he spends most of his time talking about.
The way he sees it, once 100 percent effort is achieved, wins and losses take care of themselves — leaving the coaches and players with a clear conscience.
“If you let it, pressure can consume a lot of people,” Freeman said. “But I’ve told myself and I’ve told my sons that the only pressure we have is to get up every day and do the very best we can for that day — then back it up with another good day and another.
“When it’s game day and you feel like you’ve done everything you can do and you’re prepared, there’s not a place for pressure. That’s how we’ve handled that.”
EVAN REN
CLYDE’S RITCHEY FEELING THE HEAT
David Ritchey, the son of legendary Sweetwater coach Tom Ritchey, and close friend of former Clyde coach Craig Slaughter, is admittedly under the gun these days.
Following a highly successful three-year run by Slaughter at CHS, which saw a 10-year playoff drought end in 2006 and the first outright district title taken in more than 50 years in 2008, Ritchey took the position when it came open in 2009.
The elevated expectations created by Slaughter have remained, putting Ritchey under a microscope before his first Clyde team ever took the field — made even tougher by the fact that CHS was undergoing a major athletic facilities renovation at the time.
Ritchey produced a 5-5 record with an injury-plagued team in his first year — missing the playoffs.
“When you taste the Kool-Aid you want to keep drinkin’ it,” Ritchey said. “They tasted the Kool-Aid with coach Slaughter — we stopped drinking it last year, and it’s been made clear to me that they want to drink the Kool-Aid again.”
One may have expected more of a honeymoon.
After all, Ritchey is a former Slaughter assistant, who has made every effort to retain the system that helped bring the Bulldogs out of the doldrums in the first place — a power running game behind an I-formation, and a multi-look 3-3 stack defense.
In Ritchey’s view, however, the grace period has expired.
He is nothing but appreciative when speaking about his current employer and how he has been treated there, but he accepts the fact that even in Class 2A football, success on the field is part of the evaluation.
CHS has made a strong commitment to achieve excellence in that regard, and it expects to get there.
“If you ask my wife, she’d tell you that I’m one of the most stressed humans on the planet,” Ritchey said. “I know we need to do well, I want to do well, and to be frank, we have to do well.
“But that’s not why I feel pressure. I feel pressure because our kids work so hard and I want them to feel like the work they do pays off.”
And it is there (a lesson learned from his father), where Ritchey remains focused, regardless of outcome.
“Last season did not pan out the way we wanted it to,” he said. “But I’m still OK with it because those seniors did everything they could. “You want your young men who work hard for you to feel like the work they did was worth it and to have it pay off in their future.
“Yes, we all want to win. But anybody who isn’t in it for the kids is in it for the wrong reason.”
EVAN REN
© 2010 Abilene Reporter-News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
But there can be factors that add to the burden of the head coach.
n How about being so good that everyone, from the media to MTV, wants a piece of your team? Your task is finding the right balance between enjoying the limelight and not stumbling out of it.
n There’s the coach who took over a successful program that immediately snapped a 10-year playoff streak and was affected by off-the-field problems. What pressure does he put on himself to right the ship?
n What about taking over a program that has dropped a classification, kindling hopes of a return to its storied history rather one that has produced four head coaches in five seasons?
n Finally, a coach who took over a program on the rebound and saw his first team, hurt by key injuries, miss the playoffs?
Here are four stories about coaches feeling a bit of pressure before even the first snap.
WARREN’S TASK: DO IT AGAIN, THIS TIME WHILE WEARING A BULL’S EYE
Steve Warren achieved a career goal last fall, when the Abilene High eagles claimed the Class 5A Division II state championship.
But Warren got a lot more than just what he wanted following the Eagles’ 28-17 victory over Katy in the state final on Dec. 19 in San Antonio.
“Behind the scenes, the media attention has just been phenomenal all spring,” Warren said. “Way different than any season that we’ve had since I’ve been here, and I guess rightfully so. In talking with other coaches, they all say the same thing: There’s all kinds of people that want a piece of you about something. It’s been that way all spring and all summer.”
The 2009 celebration stretched well into 2010, with the team banquet in February and presentation of championship rings in late March. By then, it was practically time for the start of spring practice.
Warren said the key was to maintain balance between celebrating the achievement and moving on with life.
“What we’ve tried to do is not let that become a grind but let the kids enjoy it,” he said. “I get so many people who are experts, I guess, telling me how to handle this,
“The bottom line is I want these kids who were part of it to enjoy everything that has to do with it because it’s so special. I think that’s the best thing to do. I think our kids have had fun with it, I think our school has had fun with it and we’ll continue to.”
With the start of a new season fast approaching, the Eagles have continued drawing attention. Abilene High is ranked No. 1 in the nation — forget state rankings — by one website and No. 3 by two others. The Eagles will also play on national television on Sept. 16 when they host Tampa (Fla.) Plant.
And every team on the schedule would dearly love to be the one to knock off the reigning champs.
“We got a lot of work done knowing full well that we’re going to get everybody’s best shot when it comes to the fall,” Warren said. “Hopefully, that’ll equate into another 16-week season. That’s our goal, that’s what we’ve worked really hard for and we’re still working really hard toward that and we’re looking forward to it.”
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As clichéd as it may sound, Warren wants the Eagles to take the 2010 season one game at a time.
“I don’t think we can start the season off talking about state championships at all,” he said. “Obviously, a lot of people are going to want to do that. What I’ve been telling people — and our kids understand this — is this team we’ve got right now coming up is not a state championship team. Yet. We’ve got some players on the team that happened to be a part of the state championship team.
“Hopefully, we can mold and shape this one into a state championship contender, but we’ve got a long way to go. Being able to draw on kids who have that experience and have that ring on their finger and can call themselves state champions, I think that’s invaluable. There are only two teams in 5A that cam do that, us and (Division I champ Euless) Trinity, and that’s an experience that we need to be able to draw from when the time come.”
SAM WALLER
SLAUGHTER OUT TO REWARD SWEETWATER COMMUNITY
When he arrived at Sweetwater in 2009, after completing turnaround projects at Hearne and Clyde, Craig Slaughter made one thing clear: he had no intention of turning the Mustangs around.
Before his arrival, Sweetwater had made 22 playoff appearances the previous 25 years — including nine straight from 2000-2008 — and had consistently been one of the most successful football programs in the Big Country. All Slaughter wanted to do was continue that tradition.
Unfortunately for Slaughter, however, that didn’t quite happen.
Instead, he saw a young Mustangs team struggle on the field and had several players find trouble off it, shattering the high hopes he had for his debut season. The Mustangs lost their first five games under Slaughter before finally beating a one-win Breckenridge team for their only victory, and allegations of gang activity surrounding several of his players added even more unnecessary distractions.
But with a new season, comes a clean slate. And Slaughter said he’s determined to make the 2009 campaign a distant memory.
“I did not move here to get my butt whipped, so through the spring, the summer and two-a-days, me, my staff and these kids were all focused on making sure this program gets back to how it’s always been,” he said.
And though a 1-9 season is as rare in Sweetwater as cotton and wind turbines are common, Slaughter said most of the pressure he’s feeling to get that done is internal. The Sweetwater community, he said, has been nothing but supportive.
“The community has been outstanding. I’m sure people think, ‘Winning one game in Sweetwater, my gosh, I feel bad for that guy,’ but this administration and this community has been absolutely awesome,” Slaughter said. “I very much appreciate that because nobody’s harder on a coach than himself.
“I don’t feel the pressure as much as I know this town deserves a good product on the field. I want that first for my kids because our kids have worked, but I want those people that go out of their way to watch the Mustangs play ... driving away satisfied with the effort our kids put forth and how we executed, and that’s win or lose.”
That didn’t necessarily happen every week last year, when a perfect storm of ingredients contributed to less than stellar results. Along with the team’s youth and a few players’ off-the-field issues, Slaughter changed the Mustangs offense from the wishbone they had been running for decades to the I-formation — the offense he used to help Clyde to its first outright district title in more than 50 years.
The result was a transition that was tougher than even Slaughter anticipated.
But heading into his second season, Slaughter said that’s not something he, or Sweetwater fans, will have to worry about.
“Year 2, there’s such a huge difference, just in the terminology, the system that you run and just the quality of repetitions you have,” he said. “You’re doing way less talking through each play or scenario because now we’ve done that. From Day 1, you’re just kind of polishing things up instead of installing things, and that makes a big difference.”
Slaughter said he believes that difference could show up in yet another turnaround season.
“Last year, I know we were a big disappointment, and I’m hoping we flip that thing all the way around and we are a huge surprise this year,” he said. “We’re not selling our kids or our program short. ... I truly believe if we play good, hard-nosed football and we’re healthy and doing the things that we need to do, we’re going to have a chance to factor in the (District 5-3A) race. But it’s definitely not going to be easy.”
DANIEL YOUNGBLOOD
PRESSURE NOTHING NEW TO FREEMAN
In some respects, Steve Freeman may have been the ideal choice to take the reins in Breckenridge — a small school with a storied history but a growing reputation as being a tough gig for football coaches.
Freeman has been there and done that.
Having spent 12 years as the head coach at pressure-packed Brownwood, Freeman produced 10 playoff teams in one of the most intense environments in Texas high school football.
“We’re not looking for a first-year honeymoon,” said Freeman, who resigned from Brownwood in 2008 and spent 2009 as the offensive coordinator at Odessa Permian. “In this day and time, I don’t care if you’re in Breckenridge or Odessa or anywhere, you still have to do a good job of selling the program and what the work aspect does for you.
“Programs that are winning are the programs that are working — that’s the bottom line. If someone (lucks) out and ends up with a super-talented team one year, that’s one thing. But there’s a difference between having a good team and having a good program.”
Replacing David Fambrough, who was reassigned following last season, Freeman becomes the fourth head coach at Breckenridge in five years.
Stan Howard, the last head coach to guide Breckenridge to the playoffs in 2005, was replaced a year later by Jeff Berry after finishing 6-4. Berry left after just one season, after which Fambrough posted back-to-back 1-9 records while playing in a brutal 3A district.
The stretch has been difficult for longtime Buckaroo fans, who have seen their team reach the playoffs 38 times, including six trips to the state finals, of which they won five.
“Anything that has happened until Jan. 4, is none of my business,” said Freeman, referring to the day he began work at Breckenridge. “I know how many games they won last year and the year before. But whatever they’ve done doesn’t matter to us right now. We’re moving forward on the calendar.”
Not that Freeman is blind to the expectations.
Aside from his arrival on campus, the program’s history, combined with a drop to Class 2A and a large number of returning starters have the community more excited about football than it has been in years.
“There’s a lot of anticipation here in Breckenridge,” Freeman said. “The town is excited and our kids are excited. And truthfully, there’s a want and a need for this team to start carrying the flag for Breckenridge again, and I intend for that to happen.
“But our approach isn’t like it’s a life or death situation. Our approach is to try hard enough to do it and get it done.”
And according to Freeman, “trying hard” is what he spends most of his time talking about.
The way he sees it, once 100 percent effort is achieved, wins and losses take care of themselves — leaving the coaches and players with a clear conscience.
“If you let it, pressure can consume a lot of people,” Freeman said. “But I’ve told myself and I’ve told my sons that the only pressure we have is to get up every day and do the very best we can for that day — then back it up with another good day and another.
“When it’s game day and you feel like you’ve done everything you can do and you’re prepared, there’s not a place for pressure. That’s how we’ve handled that.”
EVAN REN
CLYDE’S RITCHEY FEELING THE HEAT
David Ritchey, the son of legendary Sweetwater coach Tom Ritchey, and close friend of former Clyde coach Craig Slaughter, is admittedly under the gun these days.
Following a highly successful three-year run by Slaughter at CHS, which saw a 10-year playoff drought end in 2006 and the first outright district title taken in more than 50 years in 2008, Ritchey took the position when it came open in 2009.
The elevated expectations created by Slaughter have remained, putting Ritchey under a microscope before his first Clyde team ever took the field — made even tougher by the fact that CHS was undergoing a major athletic facilities renovation at the time.
Ritchey produced a 5-5 record with an injury-plagued team in his first year — missing the playoffs.
“When you taste the Kool-Aid you want to keep drinkin’ it,” Ritchey said. “They tasted the Kool-Aid with coach Slaughter — we stopped drinking it last year, and it’s been made clear to me that they want to drink the Kool-Aid again.”
One may have expected more of a honeymoon.
After all, Ritchey is a former Slaughter assistant, who has made every effort to retain the system that helped bring the Bulldogs out of the doldrums in the first place — a power running game behind an I-formation, and a multi-look 3-3 stack defense.
In Ritchey’s view, however, the grace period has expired.
He is nothing but appreciative when speaking about his current employer and how he has been treated there, but he accepts the fact that even in Class 2A football, success on the field is part of the evaluation.
CHS has made a strong commitment to achieve excellence in that regard, and it expects to get there.
“If you ask my wife, she’d tell you that I’m one of the most stressed humans on the planet,” Ritchey said. “I know we need to do well, I want to do well, and to be frank, we have to do well.
“But that’s not why I feel pressure. I feel pressure because our kids work so hard and I want them to feel like the work they do pays off.”
And it is there (a lesson learned from his father), where Ritchey remains focused, regardless of outcome.
“Last season did not pan out the way we wanted it to,” he said. “But I’m still OK with it because those seniors did everything they could. “You want your young men who work hard for you to feel like the work they did was worth it and to have it pay off in their future.
“Yes, we all want to win. But anybody who isn’t in it for the kids is in it for the wrong reason.”
EVAN REN
© 2010 Abilene Reporter-News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.