GAINESVILLE — Shaun Conley knows what it takes to win big. He's been a key part of it at places like Flowery Branch and Peachtree Ridge.
And yet the word itself is not even escaping his lips these days at Chestatee -- not because he has forgotten how or does not want to. Rather the coach knows that winning is a byproduct of preparing and training players in a particular manner -- and that is his number one focus as he prepares for his frist campaign in charge of the War Eagles.
"I want this program to be thought of as a program of high character; do that and the wins and losses take care of themselves," said Conley, who inherited a team that could not consolidate historic gains of 2012-13 during which it went 17-6, followed by a 1-19 record during 2014-15. "Our goal is to create great community members for Chestatee."
To that end, Conley and his staff are focusing on self-improvement both on the field and off. On the gridiron, that means day-by-day, rep-by-rep improvement -- which will be key for a team that is undergoing major scheme changes on both sides of the ball. There is experience on hand, including four senior starters along the offensive line and a standout running back in Nick Lyles. But Conley says that could be offset by the task of picking up a new spread attack that will strive for balance.
"We don't ever mention wins and losses right now; we just tell the kids that we want to see them be better on the next play," Conley said. "I want to see these kids fight. I'm not concerned with the scoreboard. I just want to see them work and get better."
Players and coaches alike are anxious to see how much better they have gotten this offseason and will get a tough test right out of the gate against oldest rival North Hall and in a region that contains one state runner-up from 2015 (Blessed Trinity), one state quarterfinalist from 2015 (Marist) -- as well as two other programs that have become playoff regulars in West Hall and White County.
"We're just going to control what we can control and see where that takes us," Conley said.
CHESTATEE: NEED TO KNOW
- MASCOT: War Eagles
- TEAM COLORS: Black, Silver and Maroon
- CURRENT REGION: 7-AAAA
- HEAD COACH/RECORD AT SCHOOL: Shaun Conley, first season
- 2015 RECORD/ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 0-10
- KEY LOSSES: QB Logan Cates, RB Jay Mays
- OFFENSIVE STYLE: Spread -- The War Eagles will strive for a run-pass balance, though they hope to take advantage of what opposing defenses give them.
- KEY OFFENSIVE PLAYERS: 5 returning starters -- Jr. RB Nick Lyles, Jr. QB Storm Yarbrough, Sr. OL Chance Morrison, Sr. Skylar Gooch, Sr. OL Barron King, Sr. OL Moises Cuevas, Sr. WR Bailey Camp
- DEFENSIVE STYLE: 3-4 -- Chestatee will use plenty of aggression under new defensive coordinator, and former Atlanta Falcon, Artie Ulmer.
- KEY DEFENSIVE PLAYERS: 5 returning starters -- Sr. LB Austin Gean, Sr. LB Nick Beard, Sr. LB Nadar Osman
- SPECIAL TEAMS: Jr. PK/P Steven Martinez, Jr. KR Charles Jackson, Jr. KR Jacob Goodall
- STRENGTH: Maturtity of offensive line -- With four of the starting five being seniors, the War Eagles know they have plenty of ability in the trenches. The key will be how quickly they pick up the new systems being installed and learn their way under a new staff.
- QUESTION: Resiliency in the face of adversity -- The new staff is working hard to instill their players with the kind of mental toughness required for success in a rugged region slate, but that does not happen overnight, and it will be instructive to see how the War Eagles respond to adversity when it comes on the field.
- KEY GAMES: The opener comes against Chestatee's closest and most-played rival -- but one the War Eagles have only defeated once -- in North Hall. What follows is an equally-tough slate against a surging East Hall and cross-county foe Flowery Branch. Chestatee has six games to hone itself before the Region 7-AAAA campaign begins.
- TRENDING: The historic gains of 2012-13 were pegged back by the 2014-15 campaigns that saw just one win total, but the War Eagles hope to get back on track now that Conley and his staff are in place. After helping build and maintain winning programs at Flowery Branch and Peachtree Ridge, Conley knows what it takes to get there, but he also knows it is part of a process.
2016 SCHEDULE
Aug. 19 at North Hall
Aug. 26 at East Hall
Sept. 2 vs. Flowery Branch
Sept. 9 at Fannin County
Sept. 16 at Lumpkin County
Sept. 23 vs. Habersham Central
Oct. 7 vs. *West Hall
Oct. 14 at *Blessed Trinity
Oct. 21 at *White County
Oct. 28 *Marist
*- Indicates region game
(All contests start at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted)
