There are just 31 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2018 high school football season. But make no mistake, preparations for the upcoming campaign got underway months ago in weight rooms, sand pits and practice fields throughout the state. And teams throughout northeast Georgia are in full countdown mode.
With that in mind we spent the last couple of weeks catching up with programs around our area to get a feel for how spring practice went, how the summer is going and what coaches believe the fall will look like. We call the series "Two-a-Days" in honor of those old-school grinding sessions that lead us out of summer and into fall, asking each area coach two key questions about the state of their respective programs.
Over the next two weeks, AccessWDUN's Friday Game Night will get you prepped for the start of gridiron action with responses from coaches throughout northeast Georgia. (Teams run in alphabetical order)...
CHEROKEE BLUFF
Tommy Jones is no stranger to success having guided both Lumpkin County and Dacula to winning seasons and the playoffs. So when he stepped down as coach of the Falcons to take over the newly-created Cherokee Bluff program, he said the allure of building something from the ground up was one of the motivating factors. Now Jones and his staff are just over a month away from the program's first contest. We asked Jones what it has been like as the architect of building something new.
QUESTION: Coach, you mentioned upon your hire you were intrigued by the challenge of starting a new program from scratch. Has it been what you expected? More or less of a challenge as you anticipated?
ANSWER: This has probably been one of the most challenging and most fulfilling times of my career. But I can honestly say that I’ve been incredibly invigorated. I love going to work every day. There’s really no way to fully prepare for starting a new program and there’s not a manual for how to go about it. I probably wake up in the middle of the night two or three times a week remembering something that needs to be done. Through the process, I’ve leaned heavily on a couple of close friends that have started programs -- Andy Dyer at Archer and Shannon Jarvis at Mill Creek. Their advice and input has been invaluable. The one thing that stands out about Cherokee Bluff is that that there are so many outstanding people that share a common vision of excellence. From the very beginning, it was clear Principal Wes McGee and Athletic Director Kenny Hill had a high standard in every area of the school. There is an infectious level of excitement and anticipation that I’ve never experienced. Starting from scratch forces you emphasize the basics of fundamentals and player development. It reminds you that coaching is rooted in relationships. I am blessed to work alongside some of the best coaches anywhere. We have an outstanding staff. One of the first things that we did together was to create a list of Core Values that we wanted to guide our program. It was uncanny how similar our thought processes were. I believe that the ingredients are in place for great success. Obviously, it is way too early to predict when it will come. We also have an awesome group of kids that are working their tails off. Our focus right now is on the intangibles and being the best we can be every day. We are enjoying the journey!
Q: How many upperclassmen and/or varsity lettermen do you anticipate being on the roster and what kind of style should fans expect to see in Year 1?
A: As you would expect, we have a very young roster. The majority of our players are freshmen and sophomores. It’s already been satisfying to watch them grow and develop. They are making progress daily. We also have a handful of talented upperclassmen. I am especially grateful for these young men. They made a decision to be a part of the first Cherokee Bluff team and bought-in from the very beginning. They are providing great leadership to the younger guys and helping us establish a healthy culture. The immediate schematic challenge is forging a clear identity that utilizes our personnel wisely. We aren’t necessarily a pure “system” team. We want to create a structure that puts our kids in the best possible situation to succeed. We want our kids to play fast and free, without fear of failure. Offensively, we will strive for balance. We need to have the ability to take advantage of what we are given. Defensively, we want to be both sound and aggressive. Coach Chris Griffin is doing an excellent job of preparing our defense for the season. We like what we see out of our players right now. They have been working very hard this summer. We can’t wait to see them compete this season.
