January 27, 2024 • 43 mins
Join us in this revealing episode of the Demand Excellence Podcast as we sit down with Coach Edwards, a respected football coach based in Houston County. Known for his efforts towards modernizing football, Coach Edwards shares his transformative journey from a student-teacher coach in Kennesaw Mountain to elevating high school football programs through innovative offensive strategies. Interwoven in this journey is his evolution as a Christian football coach, highlighting the intersection between faith, values, and sports.
Coach Edwards discloses the challenges encountered while navigating the complex world of recruitment, underlining the importance of educating parents and young athletes about NCAA rules and regulations. He further shares his perspective on vital performance metrics, emphasizing on the need for equal opportunities in spite of these metrics not being met.
Moving beyond the gridiron, Coach Edwards opens up about his personal struggles, the role of social media in sports, and the pressures it exerts on young players. He discusses the ethical conundrum of integrating his faith into his coaching practice, showcasing how he harmonizes worldly success and spiritual fulfillment.
This episode provides a captivating blend of sports, leadership and personal growth, and spirituality. Listen in as we dive into the heart of coaching, from the drive for victory to the relationships formed on and off the field, and how faith navigates these experiences.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
All right, everybody, we are live, but not really live, you probably listened
to it out of the recording, to the Demand Excellence Podcast,
and one of the very first guests that we're going to have on,
haven't done it in three and a half years, like I've said before,
but Coach Edwards from Houston County, he's on the show today,
he's a big reason why I brought it back, you know, because at the end of the
(00:24):
day, what we're talking about is the struggle of being a Christian football coach, and it's hard.
And so, Coach, tell the listener a little bit about you. You were at Houston County.
You were at Warner Robins. Man, y'all went through a run there at Warner Robins
where I think you were the OC, and y'all were scoring like, I don't know,
I think you scored 60 in the state championship game. But tell the listener
(00:45):
a little bit about yourself.
Yeah, I kind of bounce around the state a little bit. I'm a Metro Atlanta guy.
You know, I got my start. I was a student teacher coaching at Kennesaw Mountain.
And from there, I went back to, I'm a Gwinnett County guy.
So I was back in Gwinnett County for four years. Two of those I was at, at Bergmar High School.
(01:10):
With John Thompson and we spent two years there and then he, he resigned.
So I went and got a chance to work with, uh, Bob Spire at North Gwinnett,
which is probably made the biggest impact on me as a coach, just being able
to see how to run a program effectively and see how he handled certain situations.
I was kind of a, uh, a go boy for him.
(01:32):
You know, I was cutting up film and coach night
grade and I was just a sponge and after
a year there I got an opportunity to be an OC at Northview
High School in North Fulton and spent a year there and the guy that I worked
with at Kennesaw Mountain got the job at North Paulding High School in Dallas
Georgia and it was a little closer to my my wife's family so we made the move
(01:56):
and had a good little run at North Paulding for for four years as the offensive coordinator.
And we got moved up to 7A, Coach.
And then it was hard to compete in 7A when we were at North Paulding.
And we got the luxury of going down and playing against Rush Probst at Concord County.
And I kind of got to experience the South Georgia way.
(02:20):
And to be quite honest, I was kind of hooked. And so I did some interviews with
some South Georgia schools.
They ended up at Ketterow High School. so we went
all the way down to the Georgia-Florida line at Cairo and
I spent three great years there with Steve
Dvorzny and you know learned a lot and
kind of changed my philosophy a little bit
(02:41):
offensively after experiencing you know South
Georgia you can't really just spread it out and
throw it better be out run the football and that's that goes for
anywhere but it's they're a little it's
different down there and I wasn't looking for a
job Marquise Westbrook got the job at Warner Robbins and again my family my
wife's family is from metro Atlanta and my wife's father was sick at the time
(03:04):
and it was an opportunity to kind of cut the drive down and I went to Warner
Robbins we played for three straight three straight state championships.
Lost to Buford the first year, beat Cartersville and then Calhoun.
And then I got the opportunity to be head coach here at Houston County.
Been here two years, and I feel like I got the best job in America.
(03:28):
Amen. Well, Coach, you kind of set me up a little bit right there. Talk about offense.
I mean, you're an offensive guy, and you talk about changing your philosophy.
Obviously, you work for Bob Spire, and he's a throw it, that's all he wants
to do type guy. I mean, he'll run the ball, but he wants to throw the football.
So that really became a part of who you were.
(03:48):
And then, like you said, you moved down to South Georgia and you came back and,
hey, man, you know, you developed the identity. Hey, you got to run the football as well.
And I remember watching some of your games at Warner Robins.
I mean, you guys ran the football very effectively.
So talk about the evolution of you as an offensive minded coach.
(04:11):
Coach well yeah i kind of i started off
as a wing t coach and then the guy i
worked for at bergmar decided everybody was going to the
tony franklin system so we went and drank the
kool-aid and went to the seminars and and
all that stuff and that's kind of what bob did and so it was
all kind of air raid based you know
(04:32):
from the throw game very minimal run game beside the
inside side outside zone and yeah I
just got to the point where that was kind of the the
big it was in vogue you know Chip Lindsey came to the
state and threw it around at Lassiter it kind of
just became the big thing and then defenses caught
up and people started using the tight end again
(04:52):
and just you know I just can remember inside drill down
at Cairo my very first day in spring practice and there
was a bunch of trained killers over there we just couldn't we couldn't do a
thing and I I just really started to dive into looking at some of the Baylor
stuff and what they did with Art Briles when he was there and really started
(05:13):
kind of getting enamored by what he did.
And so from there, we still throw the ball, but it's all numbers-based,
obviously, and angles and space.
But we're all about personnel placement, tempo.
We're really wide with our splits to give our quarterbacks a defined box.
You know for our rpo game and then in the run game
(05:36):
we're vertical run game vertical pass game i mean it's
we we run choice routes it's no secret and
we still have some air raid concepts for you know third medium third and longs
and you know some drop eight deals but for the most part you know we're going
to try to establish a run if they'll give it to us if not we're going to read
that extra hat and throw rpos and so try to keep it real simple for our kids
(05:59):
and and just let them turn it loose and go play ball.
So speaking of that, you know, talking about offense, obviously there at Houston
County you have one of the top players in the country, really, at quarterback.
So when you have somebody like that, how do you mold your offense?
(06:20):
Like, for example, I remember at Warner Robins, you had more of a runner at
quarterback, almost like a running back, but you guys were scoring tons of points.
I'm not saying he was a running back, but to me, that was what it seemed like.
And then now here you are, you got one of the hottest quarterbacks in the country.
So how do you adapt and change as a coach?
(06:44):
Well, every year it seems like, you know, we all coach high school ball,
so we got to walk through the door.
And at Warner Robins, we did have a dual threat type guy.
Jalen Addy was a true dual threat.
He could pull it down and get himself out of trouble. Sometimes he wouldn't
stay in there long enough, you know, for me. But, you know, he could make plays with his feet.
(07:05):
The next year we had a kid that if he walked through the door right now in your
office, you'd have thought he played guard.
But he understood the offense. He could throw it 35 yards tops,
but he got the ball out on time.
And, you know, he was just really good at it. And so we were able to have some success with him.
And then obviously when I got this job, we had A.J.
Hill, who will be a senior this season. And he is, you know,
(07:28):
like you said, one of the top quarterbacks in the country, six foot five.
And he can make all the throws and make it look very easy.
But, you know, we just adapt it, you know, as far as what we do in the run game.
You know if we're gonna have a guy that could run it
well you'll see some more quarterback power counter things like
i've seen you do that i really like and you
(07:50):
know it's just i feel like our system is very adaptable
to the personnel that we have we like to have guys that can run on the outside
that helps us stretch the field but if we don't then we're going to incorporate
more quick game and some you know get the ball out of our hands type thing so
i just i try to make it adaptable We'll make it real simple for the guys so
(08:11):
they don't have to think.
Speak to a little bit. I'm going to come back to recruiting,
but I was just sitting there thinking, I mean, you're at Houston County,
so you're sitting there. You've got Houston County.
You've got Northside, Warner Robins. You've got Warner Robins High School.
Now Perry, which is about 10 minutes from you, they're becoming a powerhouse.
What's it like just recruiting in that area? Because it's not like it's Atlanta.
(08:33):
It's not like there's a million people, But what's it like coaching in that
area and competing for kids and kids moving around?
I mean, I don't know. What's it like coaching there with four really competitive
high schools all within like five miles from each other?
There's a lot of good football here, and I think that the state and the colleges
(08:54):
are starting to take notice of that.
You know, we're about an hour and 15 or so from the airport,
so colleges are starting to get off the plane and make that short drive to come
down here to recruit our kids.
But there's a good bit of, you know, there's a lot of loyalty here in this county.
You know, we have, you know, we've got Perry. Perry won the state championship,
(09:15):
like you said, Northside, Warner Ivins, us, and veterans.
And in this county, I feel like there's more loyalty here than the metro Atlanta
area, to be quite honest.
It just seems like there's a lot of moving around and stuff up there.
Heck, there's no loyalty in college football now, for that matter,
but with all that mess that's going on.
(09:37):
People are taking notice of the type of athlete, and we've got a different type
kid, I feel like, down here.
Kids down here, to me, are a little bit more hard-nosed.
You know, and a lot of them grow up with, you know, not so much Houston County,
but you think Warner Robins and Northside, you know, their parents went to school there.
(09:58):
And so they're going to, you know, they're going to end up going to school there.
So it's they have a lot of legacies going on there.
But for us, we're one of the newer, you know, the school was built in 1991.
So we're starting to get to where I've got some guys I'm coaching now that's
dads played here. So we're just trying to we're just trying to build this thing
and try to make it give give these kids a program they can't live without, to be honest.
(10:21):
Yep. So, Coach, let's talk a little bit about recruiting, because recruiting
is can be a headache for the high school coach.
It obviously, you know, because this is why, you know, you're dealing with you
want to get kids recruited, but colleges are coming to see a specific kid.
They're not necessarily coming to see everybody else.
There's height, weight, and measurables that must be met at each position for
(10:44):
the big schools to recruit.
You know, and then we have to deal with the parents not understanding.
Like, for example, I mean, you have A.J. Hill. He's 6'5". Everybody in the nation
is coming into recruiting.
But they're not – but, like, so, you know, Arkansas might fly in to see A.J.
Hill, but they're not noticing anybody else. And then some parents can get frustrated
about that. it's a huge thing to navigate.
(11:07):
Talk about recruiting from your perspective a little bit.
Well, we try to early in the offseason when we get ready to crank up the new
season, we have a big parent meeting and we go over all of the ins and outs
of recruiting and just kind of different ways to put yourself ahead.
And then we just kind of educate these kids and their parents mainly on the
(11:31):
things that have to take place, things that people don't think about,
getting the kids signed up for the NCAA Clearinghouse, all
the little things that they have to do in order
to be able to even take visits you know i mean that's there's
a lot of that stuff that that really people don't
think much about and so yeah it's hard it's hard
because we we do get a pretty good amount of traffic with with aj and some other
(11:55):
kids and there hasn't been a whole lot of the you know fcs division twos coming
around anymore because of the transfer portal so what you're seeing is you know
they're waiting around and see who doesn't get grabbed now for Division I,
and they're taking what's left over.
And so there's a lot of kids that are having to go as PWOs or,
you know, get admitted into a school and walk on, as you know,
(12:16):
and kind of earn their way.
But it is frustrating, you know, for certain kids that you know can play that,
you know, years ago would have gotten the opportunities and they're not now.
And so, you know, we do a good bit of work with our kids on,
you know, the middle side and mindset and, you know, know, our character and
program that we do in the off season to try to, you know, try to keep these
(12:40):
kids as positive as they can and, and give,
you know, a team first outlook on things, but also just try to get them where
they want to go if that's what their goal is.
So talk about this. I think it'd be good for any parent that might listen.
You know, the running back from Missouri this year, you know, he's a stud, right?
He's five foot eight, five foot nine, just an absolute stud,
(13:01):
rushed for 1600 yards. He's going to be a kid that gets drafted.
But he didn't get recruited in high school. And he was in an area that was very
highly recruited, and he had to go to a Division II school.
And then he finished there, and the story is he wanted to go to Missouri,
but Missouri wasn't even – so he got into the transfer portal,
(13:23):
finished at D2 school, wants to go to Missouri.
The coach from Missouri wasn't even calling back, had to be like a million-dollar
donor or something like that.
They said, hey, coach, would you just give him a walk-on spot,
talk the coach in to give him the kid a walk-on spot?
Ends up becoming, you know, an off SEC type player.
But the point is, is that kid didn't get recruited. And I think like when you
(13:43):
take for a running back, you know, every high school's got a good running back.
I mean, if you're a good program, you got a good running back, but, but what you have.
So the measurables of a running back, if you or me have a running back that's
six foot, six foot one, and he runs a four or six and he's productive,
he's going to get a a lot of scholarship offers but if we have a running back
(14:05):
that's five foot seven and he's a 2,000 yard rusher he might not get an offer
unless he runs 10-7 in the hundred talk a little bit about that.
Well, yeah. I mean, I had a kid this year, to be honest with you,
that was a fit that exact mold you're talking about.
He was about 5'7", 5'8". You know, he's back-to-back, 1,700-yard rusher,
(14:29):
you know, and threw up all the stats.
But he did not have the size to get those big-time offers and opportunities. opportunities.
I mean, we're currently, you know,
working with him to try to find him an opportunity. It's frustrating.
And he didn't have the elite speed, like you said, but he's a really,
really good football player.
(14:50):
And somebody's going to luck out by getting that kid.
That's, I think that's the frustrating part of it. You know,
I think that when you do talk to parents, I mean, obviously there are things
that catch recruiters' eyes.
I've got a 6'7 freshman offensive lineman right
now he's played very little football but as soon
as the guy walks into our weight room and sees him he catches
(15:11):
his eye immediately you know so it's that's a
big deal and there's a lot of kids that get opportunities based off of that
that are really developmental guys so yeah I think it's I think it's uh it's
very frustrating and I know it's frustrating for the parents and I I don't really
know if I have a great answer for that I just try to I try to you you know, beat the pavement,
(15:34):
try to find as many places for them and use my contacts and try to see,
you know, if we can try to find these guys a place to play.
And sometimes it's, hey, look, you know, are you okay not playing Division I?
Do you love it? Because it's different at the Division II, Division III, NAIA level.
And you got to find that out real quick and just do the best you can for these kids.
(15:56):
Yeah, I had a guy ask me today, you know, what's the difference in coaching
a kid now and maybe 20 years ago or 10 years.
Actually, I'm only in a 44, so I didn't coach too many kids 20 years ago.
But but what's the difference between coaching a kid now and 10 years ago?
And really, it's social media.
Kids are the same, right? I mean, it's been the same ever since God created
(16:18):
Adam and Eve and they had Cain and Abel. But.
The difference is, I think, is social media.
And now a parent can get frustrated, a kid can get frustrated because they see,
oh, this kid's getting this, but I'm not getting this.
Well, you know, and so we live in that state of kind of like jealousy.
(16:40):
Well, I'm jealous that they're getting something I'm not, where I'm just as
good as them, but I'm not getting this. You know, in reality,
all we can really control is ourselves and all we can really control is,
you know, becoming the very best version of ourselves.
But when we get on social media and we start looking at that stuff and this
guy's got this and this guy's got that, you know, I mean, in any walks of life,
(17:04):
it could cause you to have issues.
But it's really just that's the thing, man, being content, being being where
you're fit are right, being happy with yourself. And I think that's a huge difference.
And I think that social media kind of drives like a little bit of jealousy and,
you know, and all that kind of stuff.
Talk about as a coach real quick, like what your day's like right now,
(17:28):
because you're a head football coach and everybody thinks that we don't do anything
when it's not football season.
And and but you're a head football coach right now you're trying
to get your team just their mindset of work and
let's keep getting after it because you got to get better every single day
but you have one of the top quarterbacks in the
country and you can't even sit down during the day because of all these college
(17:49):
coaches are there it's coming talk about that a little bit yeah you're exactly
right i was joking with a couple of my coaches today i was telling them i needed
a i needed a secretary i mean it's it's out of control especially the month
of january when And it's,
you know, the open time for the guys to come around.
And, yeah, it's very – it can be frustrating. I mean, it takes up,
(18:10):
you know, your entire day.
You know, my wife was joking with me yesterday asking, why aren't you coming
home at 7.30 and early offseason? I'm like, because I don't get anything done between 8 and 4.
You know, I'm here at the school. It's just nonstop people coming in.
But, you know, that's why we do this. At least that's why I do it.
I want to make sure that I give these kids all the opportunities that they can possibly get.
(18:33):
I want to make sure I spend the time needed with these coaches,
answering the questions that they need and giving them all the things that they
need, transcripts, all of that. And I'm fortunate.
The setup that I have here at Houston County is phenomenal.
I have a great admin, and I've got two classes that I teach,
(18:54):
and that's when I have all my players. We have them all sixth and seventh period.
So you know I like for the guy for the colleges to come around they can come
around during that time but I'm going to spend the first five to ten minutes
with my guys every day talking about our core values talking about our culture
and the things that we go that we go over in the offseason.
(19:18):
But it can be exhausting, but at the same time,
I think it's very rewarding when you see that kid that gets his first offer
and you have your principal send you a video of the camera that's in the gym
and you see the kid sprint out of their fist pump because he's fired up because
he got his first offer at Western Kentucky.
(19:39):
I mean, those are the things that really make you proud as a coach and also
make you – it's very rewarding. But the social media thing, I wish I didn't have to be on it.
I think there's some advantages of it. I'm able to keep in touch with a lot
of people that I went to high school with that I haven't seen in a long time, so that's an advantage.
(20:00):
But you're right, when it comes to kids these days, I think a lot of kids play
and do things for the likes.
And a lot of kids like recruiting.
They don't love football. They love all the attention.
They don't love football. and then when it when when all
that goes away and they show up at that respective
school you know they can't handle it
(20:22):
they're back home real quick so i do think
that that obviously we use twitter as a way or social media as a way to promote
our program to promote our players you know but i wish that i didn't have to
be on and i wish i could have done a 21 day fast of social media like my My
wife did here these last 21 days,
(20:44):
but I can't because I've gotten to be on there for my guys.
Yeah, you can't do that. That's for sure. That's the way the recruiting world works.
I'm going to shift gears right here. So one reason I started doing this podcast
a long time ago was I kept trying to find podcasts where, man, like...
You can find the Leadership Podcast, and they talk about how great you are,
(21:08):
live your best life, and all that kind of stuff. Or you can find the X and O Podcast.
There's all different types of podcasts. I could never find a podcast that blended
in being a Christian football coach and the challenges of that,
and really pursuing excellence as a football coach and the challenges of that,
and then the mix of pursuing Christ,
(21:31):
but we're trying to win, and it's hard for winning, not to become our God and
our identity and success.
And we're chasing glory, you know, and man, we can get so lost so fast.
Even being a Christian, even reading your Bible every day.
Like, man, we can just, man, wake up and we're completely in left field and
(21:52):
don't even know what happened.
And so what I wanted to do was start a podcast where we interview a lot of great
coaches and learn football. but also I try to kind of interview coaches for
the most part that have a belief in Jesus Christ, a relationship with Jesus Christ.
And that doesn't mean that that person's a perfect person. It means that he
(22:13):
knows he's lost and he needs a savior and he's striving to live for the glory of Jesus Christ.
And so talk about you and your experience with that, you know,
as you went from just in your walk, as you've been to a lot of different places
as a coach, your wife has moved You've moved a lot of different places.
You've moved your family a lot of different places. And as you go to new places,
(22:37):
that's a lot of stress, right? You're building a program.
I can't imagine, you know, you go from Warner Robins to Houston County and you
got to build that program.
And I know that's hard because I'm going through it here right at Hebrew Christian
Academy because I've only been here my second year.
So just talk about that a little bit.
Yeah, it's, I am certainly a work in progress.
(22:57):
You know, I've, growing up, you know, I was the, my family was a Sunday morning,
Sunday night, Wednesday church, you know, family.
And my, my dad, you know, taught Sunday school.
And, you know, I felt like, honestly, coach, I go to to college,
and I think it happens to a lot of people, I lost my way.
(23:22):
Over the last couple years, I've lost my way.
I've done a lot and said a lot of things that I wish that I could take back.
I've got a lot of regrets.
I think that's the beauty of being a Christian and being born again,
is that we are all forgiven for our many sins, and I've got a lot of them,
and a lot of things things I'm not proud of.
(23:44):
Over this season, I felt like there was a giant burden on my shoulder.
There was tons of expectations with the amount of talent we had this past year
and kids that were highly recruited.
And as a team, I don't feel like I did a good job of one of our core values
(24:06):
is brotherhood and the power of the unit and loving one another And playing for one another.
And I allowed a lot of individuality to go on. And I allowed a lot of selfishness to go on.
And I allowed myself to...
Get into a dark place. I didn't have a whole lot of fun this past season.
(24:27):
I know that sounds bad, and a lot of people think that's ridiculous because we went 9-3.
A lot of people would be happy with that, but when we lost that last game,
I remember looking around after our game and looking at our players,
and I just felt like the connection was not as good as it was the year before.
(24:48):
I don't feel like we were as hungry as we once were. And so I really feel like,
you know, the game was up at Woodward Academy and my wife's family's up there.
So she stayed up there with my little girls and I went home and we got a new
we got a dog and he didn't talk to me. Right. So I can't get any advice from him.
(25:09):
And I really was that I was at a rock bottom coach, an absolute rock bottom.
Him. And I felt like I just, I was crying out to the Lord and all I could do
is just drop to my knees and pray.
And honestly, I, I, we had a staff meeting when we got back to school and I
(25:30):
told all my guys, like, this is what we're going to do. We're going to clean this up.
We're not going to use any kind of language anymore.
I've allowed it to go on. I didn't, I didn't want it to go on.
And I've just allowed it to go. And I've been the problem. I've been the problem.
And I've really, you know, got into the word I've gotten into,
you know, I've got a close friend who is our, our team chaplain, who is my pastor.
(25:54):
And I've, I've got him to start a Bible study with our coaches.
And I went back and I read your book that I bought years ago,
demand excellence, which has helped me tremendously.
And that's one reason why I reached out to you coach, because because that was influential.
I just feel like I was at a place in my life where I had allowed football to become my God.
(26:18):
And my identity was 100% tied up in football and being a football coach to the
point where we won the state championship in 2020.
And I remember not even enjoying it. I was thinking, all right, who do we play next?
Like, when do I get the film for the next one? And we had just played a great
game and beat a really good team.
(26:40):
And then my second year, we went back-to-back, and it was like I didn't enjoy it. It was never enough.
I felt like it was never enough. And I remember getting emotional after we won
in 2020 thinking, that's it?
Like, I wanted that my whole life, and now we won it, and I just, like, that's it?
And I felt like something was wrong with me. And I definitely felt like that
(27:03):
those 72 hours at my house when it was just me after the season ended this year,
I felt like God was moving in my heart.
And I had a very close friend that was the head coach here that's become my
very close friend and sort of a mentor to me when it comes to my spiritual side.
And that's Von Lasseter. I don't know if you know Coach Lasseter,
(27:25):
but he's been he's been great. I can always pick up the phone and he'll help me.
And he wants to talk to me about football and I want to talk to him about Jesus.
And that's our friendship. And he's helped me out tremendously.
And again, a work in progress. But.
(27:45):
Things are going in the right direction. I feel at peace right now more than I ever have.
I tell my guys now, I don't know if we'll win another football game around here,
but I do know that I'm going to love you and we're going to do things the right way.
I apologize to them for some of the ways that I've acted.
(28:06):
I haven't been a great example for them at times.
I feel like that's my job. More than winning, coach, My job is to be a great
example for them, a great example of a Christian and live the right way.
And so, again, I've I've I've just at peace.
So I can explain. I'm at peace right now.
(28:28):
No, that's great. You know, when I was listening to a sermon one time and I
think about this all the time.
And it was it was, I don't know, five, six, seven years ago.
And the pastor said that, you know, like if you pursue that idol,
and a lot of times we talk about we're like pursuing that idol.
Well, sometimes you don't know what you're doing, right? You're chasing something
(28:50):
and you're in pursuit of it, but you don't, you can't articulate this is my idol.
Right. And you're just doing what you think is right.
And so that's why they call it lost. Like we're lost.
Like we're doing what we think is right, but it's not right.
So we're chasing that And he said this, sometimes God will give you that idol
just so he can show you what a worthless God it is.
(29:14):
And you talk to that because, you know, you're chasing that state championship.
There's nothing you want more than that state championship.
And it's so silly, really, because they give you just this little trophy when you win it.
It's not even a big deal and i'm just kidding but like
you see when they win the national championship in college it's this big old
thing but so you're chasing just to
(29:37):
get that trophy and it's really what we're
chasing is that glory that comes with it but then you get it and you realize
this i don't it's not it's not what i thought it was gonna be and then you kind
of just you kind of sink and you kind of go into this depressed state because
everything that you put your life into,
(29:57):
which is the glory that comes with a state championship.
It wasn't what it should have been.
And then you just talk to how God turns you a little bit.
Man, the glory and the joy is in the relationships that God gives us.
God didn't give us... I mean, He gives us money to live off of,
(30:18):
but He didn't mean for us to just go chase riches.
God is a God of relationship and he's created creatures who are creatures of relationship.
The joy is in the kids. The joy is in the coaching staff and in the pursuit together.
And when the brotherhood that you talked about, and when we get our eyes off
(30:40):
of that, that's when it becomes misery.
But you know, the root of all of that is taking our eyes off Christ.
Absolutely. And yeah, again, I just And it's just one of those,
I think I just, it was kind of a humbling experience for me.
You know, something that I feel like that, you know, wasn't fun at the time.
(31:02):
I mean, again, you know, you talk about winning the state championship,
you talk to the kids about it and you just, you didn't get there.
We did, you know, we played one less game than we did the year before.
So you feel like you're, you disappointed everybody.
You feel like you disappointed those kids and you disappoint your coaching staff
and yourself and your community and.
(31:24):
Yeah, I just feel like that at the end of the day, coach, you know,
we're all going to have to retire, you know, at some point.
And when I don't when you can't win another game, sometimes you can kind of
push things aside and and hide things with the way that you act.
And, you know, it's OK to be, you know, a jerk every now and again because you won games.
(31:46):
So people look at you. It's OK, because he's a good football coach and he wins
games or he scores a lot of points. But at the end of the day,
when that ends, is everybody going to remember you as a good person that made
an impact on people and live for Jesus Christ?
Or are you the type of person that was just a jerk?
So what's my legacy going to be? Am I actually sharing the word?
(32:07):
Am I sharing what God can do for them and using my platform as a leader,
as a Christian leader? leader. And I don't push it on the kids.
And, you know, I think that there's a level of in public schools where,
you know, that you can't do things like that, but we pray.
(32:27):
And, you know, I tell these guys, I have an open door policy,
but I just want to be a better person.
I want to be a better example at times, especially when adversity,
you know, that's another thing that I found.
I'm like, we talk a lot about adversity with these kids and how to handle adversity
and choosing your response.
And, you know, I found myself feeling like a fraud coach, like a hypocrite.
(32:51):
Like I'm telling you guys, I'm giving you all this great advice that I've studied,
that I've read and put together and I can't even do it myself.
So I just sat there really, I mean, in tears for 72 hours, didn't talk to anybody
but my dog and really just...
Came to the conclusion that I need Jesus.
(33:13):
And that's the only way that I'm going to feel any type of, you know, peace in my heart.
Because this coaching thing will just rip you apart. And win or lose is just never enough.
And I got three little girls and, you know, I can't bring it home.
I've got to make sure that I check my emotions at the door.
(33:36):
We have a bad practice. I've got to be better
for them because they don't care now they do care they
cry when we lose my girls love ball but at the
same time like I'm still dad to them
they think I'm great so it doesn't matter if we get shut out and and all that
good stuff so it's um it's a great thing right now I'm I'm growing as a Christian
(33:58):
I feel like I like I said I was a I was lost for a while And I put a lot of things,
you know, with more importance in my relationship with him and made a lot of
changes within the last year.
But I've really made a change personally with my relationship with Jesus.
And I just feel like that it's going to help me carry on no matter how successful
(34:22):
I am as a football coach. So I'm just thankful for that.
Very cool. Cool. Two things I was thinking about as we wrap it up,
as you were talking, you know, like God put you in a situation there where you
are 72 hours, you know, isolated with the only two people that are going to
love you unconditionally.
And that's your dog and Jesus Christ.
So, you know, dog, he's going to love you no matter what. He doesn't care.
(34:45):
He doesn't care if you win or lose. He just wants you to feed him.
And then, you know, I haven't put out any of the podcasts yet, but I did interview a,
Another coach today, and then just another guy for when we do start putting the podcast out.
And you taught, it's funny how God works, because you talked about,
(35:09):
one of the guys I interviewed talked about the importance of having a friend to talk to.
And you talked about that guy being Von Lasseter for you, like you had an outlet,
you had somebody that you could connect with.
And then the other coach that I interviewed, man, he really struggled with what
(35:29):
you were talking about, just the anxiety and the stress and it's expectations.
That's the great word that you used right there.
And in reality, nobody puts more expectations on you than you.
You and then you're feeling what you want that it's almost like we're feeling from other people.
What we already feel and man
(35:52):
it's just you can't live up to that because you can't you can't please everybody
you can't even please yourself and it's that's where this is this is the great
challenge of life you know where jesus says come to me all you are who are heavy
laden and i will give you you rest. My yoke is easy and my burden is light.
I always wondered what yoke was because we associate it with eggs,
(36:13):
but it's really what the cows wore around their necks to make them go straight.
And so I thought about that and that's how we live our lives,
right? It's like, we got that weight. You talked about that weight.
But sometimes I'm in prayer and I'm like, Lord,
i i still have the yoke around
my neck and i still got a lot of burdens and but it's really cool that we can
(36:39):
take that to him like like i think people think that god is this god and he's
just judging you right he's just gonna smack you down but no i can go to god.
In prayer, and I can lay down my sin to Him.
Like, Lord, I am struggling with this.
(37:00):
Lord, I can't do this.
You know, just like you would want your girls to come to you and be like, Dad, I'm struggling.
Dad, I can't do this. And what are you going to do as a dad?
You're going to do everything in your power to help.
But we serve a God who can actually, sometimes we can't help as a earthly father.
(37:21):
We serve a God who can help us and he's not judging us because he's already died for that stuff.
And so just the confidence that we can have as we go forward.
And, you know, so as we wrap it up, man, what, and you might've already said
this, two things, how can you guys be better in 2024?
(37:45):
And then, I mean, obviously you talked about, you know just being better with
what you already said but let's just talk about schematically what can you be
better in 2024 and then what piece of advice would you give to a young coach
and as he grows up I mean there you were Boss Fire, OC,
Northview, North Paulding, Cairo I mean you've been everywhere what what advice
(38:08):
would you give to that 23, 24, 25 year old out there who's trying to make his
way so first what could you get how can you be better in 2024,
give advice to a young coach out there.
2024 for us, I feel like, you know, as a team, we lost 37 seniors this past
season. So we've got a lot to replace.
So far, three weeks into our offseason program, I feel like that our kids are
(38:33):
back to being hungry and humble.
It just seems, and it's not a knock on our 23 team.
It's a great, great bunch of guys and a great bunch of seniors.
Years but i feel like we had a lot of we
had a lot of guys with getting a lot of accolades and
things like that i feel like this feels this one you
(38:53):
know feels like a team more of a team they're they're working
hard you know schematically you
know i think we're not really gonna we're not gonna change you know offensively
we do we do defensively we do we do and you know special teams we try and you
know get ourselves great field position and be the most prepared on special
special teams in regards to our game plan and the meeting time we put forth into it.
(39:17):
You know, we put an awful lot of time
into special teams. They got a great coordinator on that side of the ball.
But, yeah, I think it's just getting back to being hungry, you know,
and playing for the guy next to you.
You know, we got to get back to that. You know, one of our program drivers is,
you know, we talk about attack, attitude, and brotherhood.
(39:39):
And that brotherhood piece, I think we got to ramp up.
You know, we're an attack offense, and we're an attack defense.
And, you know, our attitude, we always preach want to know mentality and so play the next play.
But we've got to do a great job of, you know, we're going to do some things
this offseason where we're going to get together in small groups with our guys and have them talk.
You know, some team talks and things like that, and really have coaches that
(40:03):
don't coach those guys work with those guys.
So building a little bit more of a bond with our team, I think is going to take us a long way.
We play a tough schedule, so we got our work cut out for us for sure.
But I would say that's going to be the biggest thing is getting back to,
you know, being confident.
When I took the job in 23, they didn't have a whole lot of confidence.
(40:25):
We built their confidence.
They were hungry. So just getting back to the basics, I guess.
As far as advice, I would say for, you know, any young coaches,
you know, find that, keep your circle small.
You know, I'm a firm believer in keep your circle small. And I don't mean,
you know, don't share ideas and talk to people and all that stuff when it comes to scheme.
But, you know, I mentioned Coach Lassiter. Find that person that,
(40:49):
you know, that cares about you.
It's not just looking, you know, to be transactional. That's one thing I can
say about him is, you know, he always worked on me to try to help me.
He didn't push things on me, but he was always there for me.
He's always been an example of how I want to be, you know, as a Christian coach.
(41:10):
And so I think it's really neat how he's able to kind of build relationships with his kids.
And I just, I really just kind of admired him. So, but get around good coaches, be a sponge.
You got to be a great teacher in order for the kids to understand what you're trying to do.
I don't think it's, you know, scheme and stuff is overrated.
(41:30):
We all know you got to have good players.
And as a young coach, you got to know where the light switch is.
You know, when I say that, you know, there is no job that you can't do.
You're going to do any job that's asked of you.
You got to know how to turn the lights on, where the light switch is.
Because, you know, you might be the first one there, the last one to leave.
You know, put your head down, always, you know, try to get better.
(41:52):
You know, we've got young coaches now that, you know, in the offseason,
they come around, they just want to talk ball.
That's how I was when I was younger. I just – when I was a student coach,
I knew I wasn't going to make any money. I didn't care. I was there every Sunday.
I did everything that they asked me to do. And I think that's the only way that
you can kind of make a name for yourself and move up.
(42:12):
So, you know, that would be my best advice for a young coach.
Absolutely. Well, Coach, it was awesome, man. I'm sitting here taking notes.
I love that. Know where the light switch is. I've never heard that. That was awesome.
But definitely appreciate you coming on the podcast and talking.
I'd love to pray for us as we head out. And man, I wish you nothing but the best. Thank you, Coach.
(42:36):
Lord, we're coming for you today. I just want to praise and thank you for loving
us. Just praise and thank you for who you are, Lord.
You meet us where we are. Sometimes we get lost.
Sometimes we get sidetracked. We don't mean to get lost. We don't mean to get
sidetracked. We don't mean to make more of this game than we should.
We know that it's to be used for your glory, but sometimes we chase our glory.
Sometimes we chase winning. Lord, and every time we realize we're lost.
(42:59):
And Lord, we can lay down before you and Lord, and just repent and ask you to
redirect us and lead us and guide us.
And Lord, you answer every single time. That's the beautiful thing about Jesus Christ.
Lord, you are a God of mercy and grace and direction. I just pray for Coach
Edwards as he continues to coach there at Houston County.
(43:22):
Just, Lord, continue to strengthen him in Christ and grow him in Christ.
And may you use him to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Lord, we love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Coach, I appreciate it,
man. Thank you. God bless you.
All right, everybody, we are live, but not really live, you probably listened
to it out of the recording, to the Demand Excellence Podcast,
and one of the very first guests that we're going to have on,
haven't done it in three and a half years, like I've said before,
but Coach Edwards from Houston County, he's on the show today,
he's a big reason why I brought it back, you know, because at the end of the
(00:24):
day, what we're talking about is the struggle of being a Christian football coach, and it's hard.
And so, Coach, tell the listener a little bit about you. You were at Houston County.
You were at Warner Robins. Man, y'all went through a run there at Warner Robins
where I think you were the OC, and y'all were scoring like, I don't know,
I think you scored 60 in the state championship game. But tell the listener
(00:45):
a little bit about yourself.
Yeah, I kind of bounce around the state a little bit. I'm a Metro Atlanta guy.
You know, I got my start. I was a student teacher coaching at Kennesaw Mountain.
And from there, I went back to, I'm a Gwinnett County guy.
So I was back in Gwinnett County for four years. Two of those I was at, at Bergmar High School.
(01:10):
With John Thompson and we spent two years there and then he, he resigned.
So I went and got a chance to work with, uh, Bob Spire at North Gwinnett,
which is probably made the biggest impact on me as a coach, just being able
to see how to run a program effectively and see how he handled certain situations.
I was kind of a, uh, a go boy for him.
(01:32):
You know, I was cutting up film and coach night
grade and I was just a sponge and after
a year there I got an opportunity to be an OC at Northview
High School in North Fulton and spent a year there and the guy that I worked
with at Kennesaw Mountain got the job at North Paulding High School in Dallas
Georgia and it was a little closer to my my wife's family so we made the move
(01:56):
and had a good little run at North Paulding for for four years as the offensive coordinator.
And we got moved up to 7A, Coach.
And then it was hard to compete in 7A when we were at North Paulding.
And we got the luxury of going down and playing against Rush Probst at Concord County.
And I kind of got to experience the South Georgia way.
(02:20):
And to be quite honest, I was kind of hooked. And so I did some interviews with
some South Georgia schools.
They ended up at Ketterow High School. so we went
all the way down to the Georgia-Florida line at Cairo and
I spent three great years there with Steve
Dvorzny and you know learned a lot and
kind of changed my philosophy a little bit
(02:41):
offensively after experiencing you know South
Georgia you can't really just spread it out and
throw it better be out run the football and that's that goes for
anywhere but it's they're a little it's
different down there and I wasn't looking for a
job Marquise Westbrook got the job at Warner Robbins and again my family my
wife's family is from metro Atlanta and my wife's father was sick at the time
(03:04):
and it was an opportunity to kind of cut the drive down and I went to Warner
Robbins we played for three straight three straight state championships.
Lost to Buford the first year, beat Cartersville and then Calhoun.
And then I got the opportunity to be head coach here at Houston County.
Been here two years, and I feel like I got the best job in America.
(03:28):
Amen. Well, Coach, you kind of set me up a little bit right there. Talk about offense.
I mean, you're an offensive guy, and you talk about changing your philosophy.
Obviously, you work for Bob Spire, and he's a throw it, that's all he wants
to do type guy. I mean, he'll run the ball, but he wants to throw the football.
So that really became a part of who you were.
(03:48):
And then, like you said, you moved down to South Georgia and you came back and,
hey, man, you know, you developed the identity. Hey, you got to run the football as well.
And I remember watching some of your games at Warner Robins.
I mean, you guys ran the football very effectively.
So talk about the evolution of you as an offensive minded coach.
(04:11):
Coach well yeah i kind of i started off
as a wing t coach and then the guy i
worked for at bergmar decided everybody was going to the
tony franklin system so we went and drank the
kool-aid and went to the seminars and and
all that stuff and that's kind of what bob did and so it was
all kind of air raid based you know
(04:32):
from the throw game very minimal run game beside the
inside side outside zone and yeah I
just got to the point where that was kind of the the
big it was in vogue you know Chip Lindsey came to the
state and threw it around at Lassiter it kind of
just became the big thing and then defenses caught
up and people started using the tight end again
(04:52):
and just you know I just can remember inside drill down
at Cairo my very first day in spring practice and there
was a bunch of trained killers over there we just couldn't we couldn't do a
thing and I I just really started to dive into looking at some of the Baylor
stuff and what they did with Art Briles when he was there and really started
(05:13):
kind of getting enamored by what he did.
And so from there, we still throw the ball, but it's all numbers-based,
obviously, and angles and space.
But we're all about personnel placement, tempo.
We're really wide with our splits to give our quarterbacks a defined box.
You know for our rpo game and then in the run game
(05:36):
we're vertical run game vertical pass game i mean it's
we we run choice routes it's no secret and
we still have some air raid concepts for you know third medium third and longs
and you know some drop eight deals but for the most part you know we're going
to try to establish a run if they'll give it to us if not we're going to read
that extra hat and throw rpos and so try to keep it real simple for our kids
(05:59):
and and just let them turn it loose and go play ball.
So speaking of that, you know, talking about offense, obviously there at Houston
County you have one of the top players in the country, really, at quarterback.
So when you have somebody like that, how do you mold your offense?
(06:20):
Like, for example, I remember at Warner Robins, you had more of a runner at
quarterback, almost like a running back, but you guys were scoring tons of points.
I'm not saying he was a running back, but to me, that was what it seemed like.
And then now here you are, you got one of the hottest quarterbacks in the country.
So how do you adapt and change as a coach?
(06:44):
Well, every year it seems like, you know, we all coach high school ball,
so we got to walk through the door.
And at Warner Robins, we did have a dual threat type guy.
Jalen Addy was a true dual threat.
He could pull it down and get himself out of trouble. Sometimes he wouldn't
stay in there long enough, you know, for me. But, you know, he could make plays with his feet.
(07:05):
The next year we had a kid that if he walked through the door right now in your
office, you'd have thought he played guard.
But he understood the offense. He could throw it 35 yards tops,
but he got the ball out on time.
And, you know, he was just really good at it. And so we were able to have some success with him.
And then obviously when I got this job, we had A.J.
Hill, who will be a senior this season. And he is, you know,
(07:28):
like you said, one of the top quarterbacks in the country, six foot five.
And he can make all the throws and make it look very easy.
But, you know, we just adapt it, you know, as far as what we do in the run game.
You know if we're gonna have a guy that could run it
well you'll see some more quarterback power counter things like
i've seen you do that i really like and you
(07:50):
know it's just i feel like our system is very adaptable
to the personnel that we have we like to have guys that can run on the outside
that helps us stretch the field but if we don't then we're going to incorporate
more quick game and some you know get the ball out of our hands type thing so
i just i try to make it adaptable We'll make it real simple for the guys so
(08:11):
they don't have to think.
Speak to a little bit. I'm going to come back to recruiting,
but I was just sitting there thinking, I mean, you're at Houston County,
so you're sitting there. You've got Houston County.
You've got Northside, Warner Robins. You've got Warner Robins High School.
Now Perry, which is about 10 minutes from you, they're becoming a powerhouse.
What's it like just recruiting in that area? Because it's not like it's Atlanta.
(08:33):
It's not like there's a million people, But what's it like coaching in that
area and competing for kids and kids moving around?
I mean, I don't know. What's it like coaching there with four really competitive
high schools all within like five miles from each other?
There's a lot of good football here, and I think that the state and the colleges
(08:54):
are starting to take notice of that.
You know, we're about an hour and 15 or so from the airport,
so colleges are starting to get off the plane and make that short drive to come
down here to recruit our kids.
But there's a good bit of, you know, there's a lot of loyalty here in this county.
You know, we have, you know, we've got Perry. Perry won the state championship,
(09:15):
like you said, Northside, Warner Ivins, us, and veterans.
And in this county, I feel like there's more loyalty here than the metro Atlanta
area, to be quite honest.
It just seems like there's a lot of moving around and stuff up there.
Heck, there's no loyalty in college football now, for that matter,
but with all that mess that's going on.
(09:37):
People are taking notice of the type of athlete, and we've got a different type
kid, I feel like, down here.
Kids down here, to me, are a little bit more hard-nosed.
You know, and a lot of them grow up with, you know, not so much Houston County,
but you think Warner Robins and Northside, you know, their parents went to school there.
(09:58):
And so they're going to, you know, they're going to end up going to school there.
So it's they have a lot of legacies going on there.
But for us, we're one of the newer, you know, the school was built in 1991.
So we're starting to get to where I've got some guys I'm coaching now that's
dads played here. So we're just trying to we're just trying to build this thing
and try to make it give give these kids a program they can't live without, to be honest.
(10:21):
Yep. So, Coach, let's talk a little bit about recruiting, because recruiting
is can be a headache for the high school coach.
It obviously, you know, because this is why, you know, you're dealing with you
want to get kids recruited, but colleges are coming to see a specific kid.
They're not necessarily coming to see everybody else.
There's height, weight, and measurables that must be met at each position for
(10:44):
the big schools to recruit.
You know, and then we have to deal with the parents not understanding.
Like, for example, I mean, you have A.J. Hill. He's 6'5". Everybody in the nation
is coming into recruiting.
But they're not – but, like, so, you know, Arkansas might fly in to see A.J.
Hill, but they're not noticing anybody else. And then some parents can get frustrated
about that. it's a huge thing to navigate.
(11:07):
Talk about recruiting from your perspective a little bit.
Well, we try to early in the offseason when we get ready to crank up the new
season, we have a big parent meeting and we go over all of the ins and outs
of recruiting and just kind of different ways to put yourself ahead.
And then we just kind of educate these kids and their parents mainly on the
(11:31):
things that have to take place, things that people don't think about,
getting the kids signed up for the NCAA Clearinghouse, all
the little things that they have to do in order
to be able to even take visits you know i mean that's there's
a lot of that stuff that that really people don't
think much about and so yeah it's hard it's hard
because we we do get a pretty good amount of traffic with with aj and some other
(11:55):
kids and there hasn't been a whole lot of the you know fcs division twos coming
around anymore because of the transfer portal so what you're seeing is you know
they're waiting around and see who doesn't get grabbed now for Division I,
and they're taking what's left over.
And so there's a lot of kids that are having to go as PWOs or,
you know, get admitted into a school and walk on, as you know,
(12:16):
and kind of earn their way.
But it is frustrating, you know, for certain kids that you know can play that,
you know, years ago would have gotten the opportunities and they're not now.
And so, you know, we do a good bit of work with our kids on,
you know, the middle side and mindset and, you know, know, our character and
program that we do in the off season to try to, you know, try to keep these
(12:40):
kids as positive as they can and, and give,
you know, a team first outlook on things, but also just try to get them where
they want to go if that's what their goal is.
So talk about this. I think it'd be good for any parent that might listen.
You know, the running back from Missouri this year, you know, he's a stud, right?
He's five foot eight, five foot nine, just an absolute stud,
(13:01):
rushed for 1600 yards. He's going to be a kid that gets drafted.
But he didn't get recruited in high school. And he was in an area that was very
highly recruited, and he had to go to a Division II school.
And then he finished there, and the story is he wanted to go to Missouri,
but Missouri wasn't even – so he got into the transfer portal,
(13:23):
finished at D2 school, wants to go to Missouri.
The coach from Missouri wasn't even calling back, had to be like a million-dollar
donor or something like that.
They said, hey, coach, would you just give him a walk-on spot,
talk the coach in to give him the kid a walk-on spot?
Ends up becoming, you know, an off SEC type player.
But the point is, is that kid didn't get recruited. And I think like when you
(13:43):
take for a running back, you know, every high school's got a good running back.
I mean, if you're a good program, you got a good running back, but, but what you have.
So the measurables of a running back, if you or me have a running back that's
six foot, six foot one, and he runs a four or six and he's productive,
he's going to get a a lot of scholarship offers but if we have a running back
(14:05):
that's five foot seven and he's a 2,000 yard rusher he might not get an offer
unless he runs 10-7 in the hundred talk a little bit about that.
Well, yeah. I mean, I had a kid this year, to be honest with you,
that was a fit that exact mold you're talking about.
He was about 5'7", 5'8". You know, he's back-to-back, 1,700-yard rusher,
(14:29):
you know, and threw up all the stats.
But he did not have the size to get those big-time offers and opportunities. opportunities.
I mean, we're currently, you know,
working with him to try to find him an opportunity. It's frustrating.
And he didn't have the elite speed, like you said, but he's a really,
really good football player.
(14:50):
And somebody's going to luck out by getting that kid.
That's, I think that's the frustrating part of it. You know,
I think that when you do talk to parents, I mean, obviously there are things
that catch recruiters' eyes.
I've got a 6'7 freshman offensive lineman right
now he's played very little football but as soon
as the guy walks into our weight room and sees him he catches
(15:11):
his eye immediately you know so it's that's a
big deal and there's a lot of kids that get opportunities based off of that
that are really developmental guys so yeah I think it's I think it's uh it's
very frustrating and I know it's frustrating for the parents and I I don't really
know if I have a great answer for that I just try to I try to you you know, beat the pavement,
(15:34):
try to find as many places for them and use my contacts and try to see,
you know, if we can try to find these guys a place to play.
And sometimes it's, hey, look, you know, are you okay not playing Division I?
Do you love it? Because it's different at the Division II, Division III, NAIA level.
And you got to find that out real quick and just do the best you can for these kids.
(15:56):
Yeah, I had a guy ask me today, you know, what's the difference in coaching
a kid now and maybe 20 years ago or 10 years.
Actually, I'm only in a 44, so I didn't coach too many kids 20 years ago.
But but what's the difference between coaching a kid now and 10 years ago?
And really, it's social media.
Kids are the same, right? I mean, it's been the same ever since God created
(16:18):
Adam and Eve and they had Cain and Abel. But.
The difference is, I think, is social media.
And now a parent can get frustrated, a kid can get frustrated because they see,
oh, this kid's getting this, but I'm not getting this.
Well, you know, and so we live in that state of kind of like jealousy.
(16:40):
Well, I'm jealous that they're getting something I'm not, where I'm just as
good as them, but I'm not getting this. You know, in reality,
all we can really control is ourselves and all we can really control is,
you know, becoming the very best version of ourselves.
But when we get on social media and we start looking at that stuff and this
guy's got this and this guy's got that, you know, I mean, in any walks of life,
(17:04):
it could cause you to have issues.
But it's really just that's the thing, man, being content, being being where
you're fit are right, being happy with yourself. And I think that's a huge difference.
And I think that social media kind of drives like a little bit of jealousy and,
you know, and all that kind of stuff.
Talk about as a coach real quick, like what your day's like right now,
(17:28):
because you're a head football coach and everybody thinks that we don't do anything
when it's not football season.
And and but you're a head football coach right now you're trying
to get your team just their mindset of work and
let's keep getting after it because you got to get better every single day
but you have one of the top quarterbacks in the
country and you can't even sit down during the day because of all these college
(17:49):
coaches are there it's coming talk about that a little bit yeah you're exactly
right i was joking with a couple of my coaches today i was telling them i needed
a i needed a secretary i mean it's it's out of control especially the month
of january when And it's,
you know, the open time for the guys to come around.
And, yeah, it's very – it can be frustrating. I mean, it takes up,
(18:10):
you know, your entire day.
You know, my wife was joking with me yesterday asking, why aren't you coming
home at 7.30 and early offseason? I'm like, because I don't get anything done between 8 and 4.
You know, I'm here at the school. It's just nonstop people coming in.
But, you know, that's why we do this. At least that's why I do it.
I want to make sure that I give these kids all the opportunities that they can possibly get.
(18:33):
I want to make sure I spend the time needed with these coaches,
answering the questions that they need and giving them all the things that they
need, transcripts, all of that. And I'm fortunate.
The setup that I have here at Houston County is phenomenal.
I have a great admin, and I've got two classes that I teach,
(18:54):
and that's when I have all my players. We have them all sixth and seventh period.
So you know I like for the guy for the colleges to come around they can come
around during that time but I'm going to spend the first five to ten minutes
with my guys every day talking about our core values talking about our culture
and the things that we go that we go over in the offseason.
(19:18):
But it can be exhausting, but at the same time,
I think it's very rewarding when you see that kid that gets his first offer
and you have your principal send you a video of the camera that's in the gym
and you see the kid sprint out of their fist pump because he's fired up because
he got his first offer at Western Kentucky.
(19:39):
I mean, those are the things that really make you proud as a coach and also
make you – it's very rewarding. But the social media thing, I wish I didn't have to be on it.
I think there's some advantages of it. I'm able to keep in touch with a lot
of people that I went to high school with that I haven't seen in a long time, so that's an advantage.
(20:00):
But you're right, when it comes to kids these days, I think a lot of kids play
and do things for the likes.
And a lot of kids like recruiting.
They don't love football. They love all the attention.
They don't love football. and then when it when when all
that goes away and they show up at that respective
school you know they can't handle it
(20:22):
they're back home real quick so i do think
that that obviously we use twitter as a way or social media as a way to promote
our program to promote our players you know but i wish that i didn't have to
be on and i wish i could have done a 21 day fast of social media like my My
wife did here these last 21 days,
(20:44):
but I can't because I've gotten to be on there for my guys.
Yeah, you can't do that. That's for sure. That's the way the recruiting world works.
I'm going to shift gears right here. So one reason I started doing this podcast
a long time ago was I kept trying to find podcasts where, man, like...
You can find the Leadership Podcast, and they talk about how great you are,
(21:08):
live your best life, and all that kind of stuff. Or you can find the X and O Podcast.
There's all different types of podcasts. I could never find a podcast that blended
in being a Christian football coach and the challenges of that,
and really pursuing excellence as a football coach and the challenges of that,
and then the mix of pursuing Christ,
(21:31):
but we're trying to win, and it's hard for winning, not to become our God and
our identity and success.
And we're chasing glory, you know, and man, we can get so lost so fast.
Even being a Christian, even reading your Bible every day.
Like, man, we can just, man, wake up and we're completely in left field and
(21:52):
don't even know what happened.
And so what I wanted to do was start a podcast where we interview a lot of great
coaches and learn football. but also I try to kind of interview coaches for
the most part that have a belief in Jesus Christ, a relationship with Jesus Christ.
And that doesn't mean that that person's a perfect person. It means that he
(22:13):
knows he's lost and he needs a savior and he's striving to live for the glory of Jesus Christ.
And so talk about you and your experience with that, you know,
as you went from just in your walk, as you've been to a lot of different places
as a coach, your wife has moved You've moved a lot of different places.
You've moved your family a lot of different places. And as you go to new places,
(22:37):
that's a lot of stress, right? You're building a program.
I can't imagine, you know, you go from Warner Robins to Houston County and you
got to build that program.
And I know that's hard because I'm going through it here right at Hebrew Christian
Academy because I've only been here my second year.
So just talk about that a little bit.
Yeah, it's, I am certainly a work in progress.
(22:57):
You know, I've, growing up, you know, I was the, my family was a Sunday morning,
Sunday night, Wednesday church, you know, family.
And my, my dad, you know, taught Sunday school.
And, you know, I felt like, honestly, coach, I go to to college,
and I think it happens to a lot of people, I lost my way.
(23:22):
Over the last couple years, I've lost my way.
I've done a lot and said a lot of things that I wish that I could take back.
I've got a lot of regrets.
I think that's the beauty of being a Christian and being born again,
is that we are all forgiven for our many sins, and I've got a lot of them,
and a lot of things things I'm not proud of.
(23:44):
Over this season, I felt like there was a giant burden on my shoulder.
There was tons of expectations with the amount of talent we had this past year
and kids that were highly recruited.
And as a team, I don't feel like I did a good job of one of our core values
(24:06):
is brotherhood and the power of the unit and loving one another And playing for one another.
And I allowed a lot of individuality to go on. And I allowed a lot of selfishness to go on.
And I allowed myself to...
Get into a dark place. I didn't have a whole lot of fun this past season.
(24:27):
I know that sounds bad, and a lot of people think that's ridiculous because we went 9-3.
A lot of people would be happy with that, but when we lost that last game,
I remember looking around after our game and looking at our players,
and I just felt like the connection was not as good as it was the year before.
(24:48):
I don't feel like we were as hungry as we once were. And so I really feel like,
you know, the game was up at Woodward Academy and my wife's family's up there.
So she stayed up there with my little girls and I went home and we got a new
we got a dog and he didn't talk to me. Right. So I can't get any advice from him.
(25:09):
And I really was that I was at a rock bottom coach, an absolute rock bottom.
Him. And I felt like I just, I was crying out to the Lord and all I could do
is just drop to my knees and pray.
And honestly, I, I, we had a staff meeting when we got back to school and I
(25:30):
told all my guys, like, this is what we're going to do. We're going to clean this up.
We're not going to use any kind of language anymore.
I've allowed it to go on. I didn't, I didn't want it to go on.
And I've just allowed it to go. And I've been the problem. I've been the problem.
And I've really, you know, got into the word I've gotten into,
you know, I've got a close friend who is our, our team chaplain, who is my pastor.
(25:54):
And I've, I've got him to start a Bible study with our coaches.
And I went back and I read your book that I bought years ago,
demand excellence, which has helped me tremendously.
And that's one reason why I reached out to you coach, because because that was influential.
I just feel like I was at a place in my life where I had allowed football to become my God.
(26:18):
And my identity was 100% tied up in football and being a football coach to the
point where we won the state championship in 2020.
And I remember not even enjoying it. I was thinking, all right, who do we play next?
Like, when do I get the film for the next one? And we had just played a great
game and beat a really good team.
(26:40):
And then my second year, we went back-to-back, and it was like I didn't enjoy it. It was never enough.
I felt like it was never enough. And I remember getting emotional after we won
in 2020 thinking, that's it?
Like, I wanted that my whole life, and now we won it, and I just, like, that's it?
And I felt like something was wrong with me. And I definitely felt like that
(27:03):
those 72 hours at my house when it was just me after the season ended this year,
I felt like God was moving in my heart.
And I had a very close friend that was the head coach here that's become my
very close friend and sort of a mentor to me when it comes to my spiritual side.
And that's Von Lasseter. I don't know if you know Coach Lasseter,
(27:25):
but he's been he's been great. I can always pick up the phone and he'll help me.
And he wants to talk to me about football and I want to talk to him about Jesus.
And that's our friendship. And he's helped me out tremendously.
And again, a work in progress. But.
(27:45):
Things are going in the right direction. I feel at peace right now more than I ever have.
I tell my guys now, I don't know if we'll win another football game around here,
but I do know that I'm going to love you and we're going to do things the right way.
I apologize to them for some of the ways that I've acted.
(28:06):
I haven't been a great example for them at times.
I feel like that's my job. More than winning, coach, My job is to be a great
example for them, a great example of a Christian and live the right way.
And so, again, I've I've I've just at peace.
So I can explain. I'm at peace right now.
(28:28):
No, that's great. You know, when I was listening to a sermon one time and I
think about this all the time.
And it was it was, I don't know, five, six, seven years ago.
And the pastor said that, you know, like if you pursue that idol,
and a lot of times we talk about we're like pursuing that idol.
Well, sometimes you don't know what you're doing, right? You're chasing something
(28:50):
and you're in pursuit of it, but you don't, you can't articulate this is my idol.
Right. And you're just doing what you think is right.
And so that's why they call it lost. Like we're lost.
Like we're doing what we think is right, but it's not right.
So we're chasing that And he said this, sometimes God will give you that idol
just so he can show you what a worthless God it is.
(29:14):
And you talk to that because, you know, you're chasing that state championship.
There's nothing you want more than that state championship.
And it's so silly, really, because they give you just this little trophy when you win it.
It's not even a big deal and i'm just kidding but like
you see when they win the national championship in college it's this big old
thing but so you're chasing just to
(29:37):
get that trophy and it's really what we're
chasing is that glory that comes with it but then you get it and you realize
this i don't it's not it's not what i thought it was gonna be and then you kind
of just you kind of sink and you kind of go into this depressed state because
everything that you put your life into,
(29:57):
which is the glory that comes with a state championship.
It wasn't what it should have been.
And then you just talk to how God turns you a little bit.
Man, the glory and the joy is in the relationships that God gives us.
God didn't give us... I mean, He gives us money to live off of,
(30:18):
but He didn't mean for us to just go chase riches.
God is a God of relationship and he's created creatures who are creatures of relationship.
The joy is in the kids. The joy is in the coaching staff and in the pursuit together.
And when the brotherhood that you talked about, and when we get our eyes off
(30:40):
of that, that's when it becomes misery.
But you know, the root of all of that is taking our eyes off Christ.
Absolutely. And yeah, again, I just And it's just one of those,
I think I just, it was kind of a humbling experience for me.
You know, something that I feel like that, you know, wasn't fun at the time.
(31:02):
I mean, again, you know, you talk about winning the state championship,
you talk to the kids about it and you just, you didn't get there.
We did, you know, we played one less game than we did the year before.
So you feel like you're, you disappointed everybody.
You feel like you disappointed those kids and you disappoint your coaching staff
and yourself and your community and.
(31:24):
Yeah, I just feel like that at the end of the day, coach, you know,
we're all going to have to retire, you know, at some point.
And when I don't when you can't win another game, sometimes you can kind of
push things aside and and hide things with the way that you act.
And, you know, it's OK to be, you know, a jerk every now and again because you won games.
(31:46):
So people look at you. It's OK, because he's a good football coach and he wins
games or he scores a lot of points. But at the end of the day,
when that ends, is everybody going to remember you as a good person that made
an impact on people and live for Jesus Christ?
Or are you the type of person that was just a jerk?
So what's my legacy going to be? Am I actually sharing the word?
(32:07):
Am I sharing what God can do for them and using my platform as a leader,
as a Christian leader? leader. And I don't push it on the kids.
And, you know, I think that there's a level of in public schools where,
you know, that you can't do things like that, but we pray.
(32:27):
And, you know, I tell these guys, I have an open door policy,
but I just want to be a better person.
I want to be a better example at times, especially when adversity,
you know, that's another thing that I found.
I'm like, we talk a lot about adversity with these kids and how to handle adversity
and choosing your response.
And, you know, I found myself feeling like a fraud coach, like a hypocrite.
(32:51):
Like I'm telling you guys, I'm giving you all this great advice that I've studied,
that I've read and put together and I can't even do it myself.
So I just sat there really, I mean, in tears for 72 hours, didn't talk to anybody
but my dog and really just...
Came to the conclusion that I need Jesus.
(33:13):
And that's the only way that I'm going to feel any type of, you know, peace in my heart.
Because this coaching thing will just rip you apart. And win or lose is just never enough.
And I got three little girls and, you know, I can't bring it home.
I've got to make sure that I check my emotions at the door.
(33:36):
We have a bad practice. I've got to be better
for them because they don't care now they do care they
cry when we lose my girls love ball but at the
same time like I'm still dad to them
they think I'm great so it doesn't matter if we get shut out and and all that
good stuff so it's um it's a great thing right now I'm I'm growing as a Christian
(33:58):
I feel like I like I said I was a I was lost for a while And I put a lot of things,
you know, with more importance in my relationship with him and made a lot of
changes within the last year.
But I've really made a change personally with my relationship with Jesus.
And I just feel like that it's going to help me carry on no matter how successful
(34:22):
I am as a football coach. So I'm just thankful for that.
Very cool. Cool. Two things I was thinking about as we wrap it up,
as you were talking, you know, like God put you in a situation there where you
are 72 hours, you know, isolated with the only two people that are going to
love you unconditionally.
And that's your dog and Jesus Christ.
So, you know, dog, he's going to love you no matter what. He doesn't care.
(34:45):
He doesn't care if you win or lose. He just wants you to feed him.
And then, you know, I haven't put out any of the podcasts yet, but I did interview a,
Another coach today, and then just another guy for when we do start putting the podcast out.
And you taught, it's funny how God works, because you talked about,
(35:09):
one of the guys I interviewed talked about the importance of having a friend to talk to.
And you talked about that guy being Von Lasseter for you, like you had an outlet,
you had somebody that you could connect with.
And then the other coach that I interviewed, man, he really struggled with what
(35:29):
you were talking about, just the anxiety and the stress and it's expectations.
That's the great word that you used right there.
And in reality, nobody puts more expectations on you than you.
You and then you're feeling what you want that it's almost like we're feeling from other people.
What we already feel and man
(35:52):
it's just you can't live up to that because you can't you can't please everybody
you can't even please yourself and it's that's where this is this is the great
challenge of life you know where jesus says come to me all you are who are heavy
laden and i will give you you rest. My yoke is easy and my burden is light.
I always wondered what yoke was because we associate it with eggs,
(36:13):
but it's really what the cows wore around their necks to make them go straight.
And so I thought about that and that's how we live our lives,
right? It's like, we got that weight. You talked about that weight.
But sometimes I'm in prayer and I'm like, Lord,
i i still have the yoke around
my neck and i still got a lot of burdens and but it's really cool that we can
(36:39):
take that to him like like i think people think that god is this god and he's
just judging you right he's just gonna smack you down but no i can go to god.
In prayer, and I can lay down my sin to Him.
Like, Lord, I am struggling with this.
(37:00):
Lord, I can't do this.
You know, just like you would want your girls to come to you and be like, Dad, I'm struggling.
Dad, I can't do this. And what are you going to do as a dad?
You're going to do everything in your power to help.
But we serve a God who can actually, sometimes we can't help as a earthly father.
(37:21):
We serve a God who can help us and he's not judging us because he's already died for that stuff.
And so just the confidence that we can have as we go forward.
And, you know, so as we wrap it up, man, what, and you might've already said
this, two things, how can you guys be better in 2024?
(37:45):
And then, I mean, obviously you talked about, you know just being better with
what you already said but let's just talk about schematically what can you be
better in 2024 and then what piece of advice would you give to a young coach
and as he grows up I mean there you were Boss Fire, OC,
Northview, North Paulding, Cairo I mean you've been everywhere what what advice
(38:08):
would you give to that 23, 24, 25 year old out there who's trying to make his
way so first what could you get how can you be better in 2024,
give advice to a young coach out there.
2024 for us, I feel like, you know, as a team, we lost 37 seniors this past
season. So we've got a lot to replace.
So far, three weeks into our offseason program, I feel like that our kids are
(38:33):
back to being hungry and humble.
It just seems, and it's not a knock on our 23 team.
It's a great, great bunch of guys and a great bunch of seniors.
Years but i feel like we had a lot of we
had a lot of guys with getting a lot of accolades and
things like that i feel like this feels this one you
(38:53):
know feels like a team more of a team they're they're working
hard you know schematically you
know i think we're not really gonna we're not gonna change you know offensively
we do we do defensively we do we do and you know special teams we try and you
know get ourselves great field position and be the most prepared on special
special teams in regards to our game plan and the meeting time we put forth into it.
(39:17):
You know, we put an awful lot of time
into special teams. They got a great coordinator on that side of the ball.
But, yeah, I think it's just getting back to being hungry, you know,
and playing for the guy next to you.
You know, we got to get back to that. You know, one of our program drivers is,
you know, we talk about attack, attitude, and brotherhood.
(39:39):
And that brotherhood piece, I think we got to ramp up.
You know, we're an attack offense, and we're an attack defense.
And, you know, our attitude, we always preach want to know mentality and so play the next play.
But we've got to do a great job of, you know, we're going to do some things
this offseason where we're going to get together in small groups with our guys and have them talk.
You know, some team talks and things like that, and really have coaches that
(40:03):
don't coach those guys work with those guys.
So building a little bit more of a bond with our team, I think is going to take us a long way.
We play a tough schedule, so we got our work cut out for us for sure.
But I would say that's going to be the biggest thing is getting back to,
you know, being confident.
When I took the job in 23, they didn't have a whole lot of confidence.
(40:25):
We built their confidence.
They were hungry. So just getting back to the basics, I guess.
As far as advice, I would say for, you know, any young coaches,
you know, find that, keep your circle small.
You know, I'm a firm believer in keep your circle small. And I don't mean,
you know, don't share ideas and talk to people and all that stuff when it comes to scheme.
But, you know, I mentioned Coach Lassiter. Find that person that,
(40:49):
you know, that cares about you.
It's not just looking, you know, to be transactional. That's one thing I can
say about him is, you know, he always worked on me to try to help me.
He didn't push things on me, but he was always there for me.
He's always been an example of how I want to be, you know, as a Christian coach.
(41:10):
And so I think it's really neat how he's able to kind of build relationships with his kids.
And I just, I really just kind of admired him. So, but get around good coaches, be a sponge.
You got to be a great teacher in order for the kids to understand what you're trying to do.
I don't think it's, you know, scheme and stuff is overrated.
(41:30):
We all know you got to have good players.
And as a young coach, you got to know where the light switch is.
You know, when I say that, you know, there is no job that you can't do.
You're going to do any job that's asked of you.
You got to know how to turn the lights on, where the light switch is.
Because, you know, you might be the first one there, the last one to leave.
You know, put your head down, always, you know, try to get better.
(41:52):
You know, we've got young coaches now that, you know, in the offseason,
they come around, they just want to talk ball.
That's how I was when I was younger. I just – when I was a student coach,
I knew I wasn't going to make any money. I didn't care. I was there every Sunday.
I did everything that they asked me to do. And I think that's the only way that
you can kind of make a name for yourself and move up.
(42:12):
So, you know, that would be my best advice for a young coach.
Absolutely. Well, Coach, it was awesome, man. I'm sitting here taking notes.
I love that. Know where the light switch is. I've never heard that. That was awesome.
But definitely appreciate you coming on the podcast and talking.
I'd love to pray for us as we head out. And man, I wish you nothing but the best. Thank you, Coach.
(42:36):
Lord, we're coming for you today. I just want to praise and thank you for loving
us. Just praise and thank you for who you are, Lord.
You meet us where we are. Sometimes we get lost.
Sometimes we get sidetracked. We don't mean to get lost. We don't mean to get
sidetracked. We don't mean to make more of this game than we should.
We know that it's to be used for your glory, but sometimes we chase our glory.
Sometimes we chase winning. Lord, and every time we realize we're lost.
(42:59):
And Lord, we can lay down before you and Lord, and just repent and ask you to
redirect us and lead us and guide us.
And Lord, you answer every single time. That's the beautiful thing about Jesus Christ.
Lord, you are a God of mercy and grace and direction. I just pray for Coach
Edwards as he continues to coach there at Houston County.
(43:22):
Just, Lord, continue to strengthen him in Christ and grow him in Christ.
And may you use him to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Lord, we love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Coach, I appreciate it,
man. Thank you. God bless you.
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