GAINESVILLE — In three years of varsity football, playing for a program that went from a historic playoff run to a seasons-long losing skid, Chestatee High senior Barron King thought he had seen just about everything.
That was until he met his new coaching staff, led by Shaun Conley.
“We were at our football camp up in Union County, and it was like 4 o’clock in the morning and all of sudden it sounded like gunshots had gone off. I jumped out of my sleeping bag, and coach Conley and the other coaches are banging on bleachers, banging on trash can lids, yelling to get up. It was like nothing I had ever seen,” said King, a longtime starter for the War Eagles at offensive/defensive line -- one who is garnering some interest from Georgia Tech and UT-Chattanooga among other college programs.
“I knew right then that things were going to be different. I knew it was serious. I actually was excited about it.”
To many of the Chestatee players, certainly the 14 seniors, Conley is a Jekyll-and-Hyde figure. As it turns out, however, his new players kind of like the Hyde side. By day, roaming the halls or running his classroom, Conley is the “nicest guy in the world.” But when the bell rings to end the regular school session, the “other side” emerges.
“Off the field, he is the nicest guy ever,” senior wide receiver/cornerback Baylee Camp said. “But once we get into practice, he turns into this other person. He pushes us hard. Whether it’s in the weight room or at practice, he wants us to be the best we can be.
“And you know what, we need it. I like the 'other side' just as much. I don’t mind seeing that guy at all.”
It’s no wonder. Despite the small sample-size of just two games, Conley and his staff already have the War Eagles (1-1) flying higher than they have since the 2013 season at the same point. They knocked off East Hall last week -- 23-21 in a lightning-shortened game -- to snap an 18-game losing streak, which came off the heels of a tough but ultra-competitive 35-28 loss to arch-rival North Hall to open the season.
“Coach (Conley) is a competitor. You can see it in his eyes during practice,” senior linebacker Austin Gean said. “(The coaching staff) has totally changed the mindset here. It’s exciting.
"We were supossed to get creamed by North Hall and he had us believing right from the beginning that we could win. And we almost did."
That's no small feat considering that recent will-sapping losing streak. War Eagles players even heard it from fellow classmates during last year’s nightmarish 0-10 campaign, the program's first winless season since 2003 when the school was just two years old and the current seniors weren’t even in kindergarten yet.
“I hate to say it but we got trash-talked by some of our own student body last year that we weren’t any good and stuff like that. It hurt,” King said. “There was some quit from some of the players last year. That’s never good to see. But a lot of those guys are gone now.”
That is what made Friday’s win over East Hall cathartic -- releasing two years of pent-up frustration.
“Some guys were crying, hugging, because we had finally won a game,” Gean said. “There was also an ‘about time’ feeling because we felt we had talent to win. It definitely felt good.”
That feeling is echoing around the school halls as well.
“There was a different vibe after the North Hall game even though we didn’t win,” Camp said. “People were saying they couldn’t wait until Friday night. We’ve got a lot more student support now.”
“There was a lot of ‘good job’ stuff in the classrooms and halls on Monday (after we won) when we came back,” Gean said. “People were happy for us and it felt good to see people believe in the team again.”
“I felt like a little kid again,” added King, referencing his days on the Junior War Eagles, who more than held their own against other middle school programs in the area. “I really missed winning. We were on the best Chestatee team ever as freshmen [a team that reached the Class AAAA second round] so we knew what it was like. But a (losing) streak like we had takes a lot out of you. It was tough to keep the faith in each other during the streak. I don’t think as a group we ever lost faith in each other; a few individuals did maybe, but not as a group. It was a challenge for everyone.”
Camp said that is where Conley and his staff have made the biggest contributions so far.
“A winning mentality was a problem the last couple of years,” Camp said. “The players weren’t taking accountability for what they were doing. Guys would miss lots of practice and then just show up again like everything was OK. That’s not happening this year.
“The coaches are making everyone take accountability for what they do. If you miss three practices, you’re gone. We saw that happen early in camp so I think everyone took things very seriously after that. There is more trust in the coaches this year. That’s a big thing I believe.”
King recalled one of the first meetings as a group when the new staff arrived.
“(The coaches) got rid of everything in the locker room and kicked us out and put is in the main stinky gym locker room. He said ‘this team hasn’t won anything yet,’ and we were going to have to win back our locker room,” King said. “I honestly thought that was fair.”
“We had to buy into what they were teaching us to get (the locker room) back,” Camp said. “That was the second day. Buy in or get out. You can’t have one foot in; you have to be all in.”
“It depended on a bunch of things like weight room performance and how many people showed up to practice and things like that,” Gean said. “It took a couple of weeks for us to earn it back but we did.”
King said they definitely had to work for it, recalling a 3-on-1 drill early in fall camp where one defender is challenged to bring down a ball-carrier led by two blockers.
“We had a full-pads practice one day, and there wasn’t a lot of excitement. The next day coach puts in this new drill. It was grueling for everyone,” he remembered. “But it taught us not to quit. I think that drill has helped us a lot to get us where we are now.”
And where are the War Eagles now? Believing not only that they can compete, but that they can win.
“The coaches believe in us, and that means a lot to us,” King said. “The last couple of years our two biggest sports, football and basketball, hardly won anything so just to have coaches and people believing you can do things is huge.”
Chestatee will take on a Flowery Branch squad at War Eagle Stadium Friday night that may have a small chip on its shoulder as well after losing a 21-20 heartbreaker to North Hall last week -- missing a potential game-winning field goal inside the final minute.
But for King, Camp, Gean and the rest of the War Eagles, the transformation underway is about more than just one game.
“I believe now that anything is possible,” Gean said. “We hate losing. People may think we’re the odd-team out (in Region 7-AAAA) but we’re going to keep working hard and prove to people that we’re ready to bring Chestatee back.”
“Coach tells us to take things one game at a time,” Camp said. “We’re looking forward to getting back out there against Flowery Branch this week. Nothing against Flowery Branch or East Hall or any other team, but really our success will depend more about us and what we do.
“But I think (last week’s win) is just the beginning for us. We feel like we have the talent to make a run at the playoffs.
“We’re hungry.”
