Phantom Stang
08-31-2007, 11:14 AM
Coyote coach wants early wins
By Nick Gholson
Friday, August 31, 2007
For some high school teams, non-district wins and losses don’t really mean anything.
But for Wichita Falls High School — in its second year under Travis Pride — non-district wins are a stepping stone to building the players’ confidence in the head coach and his program.
“Rider started 0-3 last year, and it didn’t faze them at all. But at this point, our team can’t do that. Success breeds success. Failure breeds failure. Our program needs to keep generating success, so the kids will have a sense of confidence in what we are doing,” Pride explained.
Success is something that Sweetwater has certainly experienced in the six years that Kent Jackson has been the head coach. The former Olney coach is 61-18 since taking over the Mustangs in 2001.
In Pride’s first year on the job, the Coyotes were 5-6 and a third-place playoff qualifier out of District 5-4A.
He said when he reviewed the season, there were only two games in which WFHS was not the better team — losses to Denton Ryan and Rider.
That means Pride thought the Coyotes were better than Sweetwater:mad:, a team that spoiled his WFHS debut, 24-14 on the road and then went 9-3 and two rounds deep in the Class 3A playoffs.
The Pack gets a chance to get even at 7:30 tonight in Memorial Stadium.
The Mustangs run an option attack that was the Coyotes’ bread-and-butter offense before Pride showed up with his spread-’em-out style.
He said he is thankful to have assistants on his staff like Kenny Osborn, Don Carlson and Tony Cooper, who are familiar with an offense that the head coach personally doesn’t have a clue about.
“We have some new blood and some wonderful old blood on this coaching staff, and it certainly helps to have those guys on board,” Pride said.
Sweetwater only returns three starters on offense and six on defense.
Thomas Holsey will debut as starting quarterback for the Mustangs, but he will have an experienced fullback in Auston Davis lining up alongside of him.
A lot of Coyote eyes will be on young Ben Henderson in his first start of a season-opener.
Henderson came off the junior varsity midway thought last season to be the Coyotes’ starting quarterback, but Pride said there is a world of difference in Henderson the sophomore and Henderson the junior.
“He has that swagger, that composure and confidence. This is his team now,” the coach said.
Ben is the third Henderson brother to start at quarterback for the Coyotes in the last 10 years.
His two older brothers, Greg and Tommy, were a combined 39-11 in their junior and senior seasons.
Pride said in the offseason he was trying to find more ways to get the ball into the hands of speedy wide receiver Isaiah Anderson.
Then in two-a-days, he discovered “I have four kids in the wide receiver crew who are deadly with the ball. Isaiah is just one-fourth of the position.”
Those other three are Eric Young, Antwone Moore and Riley Mason.
Pride also likes what he has seen in his defense, led by Daniel Cortez at linebacker, Andrew Johnson in the interior line and JaQua Charleston and Andrew Goble in the secondary.
www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2007/aug/31/coyote-coach-wants-early-wins/
By Nick Gholson
Friday, August 31, 2007
For some high school teams, non-district wins and losses don’t really mean anything.
But for Wichita Falls High School — in its second year under Travis Pride — non-district wins are a stepping stone to building the players’ confidence in the head coach and his program.
“Rider started 0-3 last year, and it didn’t faze them at all. But at this point, our team can’t do that. Success breeds success. Failure breeds failure. Our program needs to keep generating success, so the kids will have a sense of confidence in what we are doing,” Pride explained.
Success is something that Sweetwater has certainly experienced in the six years that Kent Jackson has been the head coach. The former Olney coach is 61-18 since taking over the Mustangs in 2001.
In Pride’s first year on the job, the Coyotes were 5-6 and a third-place playoff qualifier out of District 5-4A.
He said when he reviewed the season, there were only two games in which WFHS was not the better team — losses to Denton Ryan and Rider.
That means Pride thought the Coyotes were better than Sweetwater:mad:, a team that spoiled his WFHS debut, 24-14 on the road and then went 9-3 and two rounds deep in the Class 3A playoffs.
The Pack gets a chance to get even at 7:30 tonight in Memorial Stadium.
The Mustangs run an option attack that was the Coyotes’ bread-and-butter offense before Pride showed up with his spread-’em-out style.
He said he is thankful to have assistants on his staff like Kenny Osborn, Don Carlson and Tony Cooper, who are familiar with an offense that the head coach personally doesn’t have a clue about.
“We have some new blood and some wonderful old blood on this coaching staff, and it certainly helps to have those guys on board,” Pride said.
Sweetwater only returns three starters on offense and six on defense.
Thomas Holsey will debut as starting quarterback for the Mustangs, but he will have an experienced fullback in Auston Davis lining up alongside of him.
A lot of Coyote eyes will be on young Ben Henderson in his first start of a season-opener.
Henderson came off the junior varsity midway thought last season to be the Coyotes’ starting quarterback, but Pride said there is a world of difference in Henderson the sophomore and Henderson the junior.
“He has that swagger, that composure and confidence. This is his team now,” the coach said.
Ben is the third Henderson brother to start at quarterback for the Coyotes in the last 10 years.
His two older brothers, Greg and Tommy, were a combined 39-11 in their junior and senior seasons.
Pride said in the offseason he was trying to find more ways to get the ball into the hands of speedy wide receiver Isaiah Anderson.
Then in two-a-days, he discovered “I have four kids in the wide receiver crew who are deadly with the ball. Isaiah is just one-fourth of the position.”
Those other three are Eric Young, Antwone Moore and Riley Mason.
Pride also likes what he has seen in his defense, led by Daniel Cortez at linebacker, Andrew Johnson in the interior line and JaQua Charleston and Andrew Goble in the secondary.
www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2007/aug/31/coyote-coach-wants-early-wins/