November 7, 2025 • 48 mins
Coach Pfiester is the Head Football Coach at Long County in Georgia. Long County went 28-179-2 before he become the Head Coach and had never made the playoffs. His teams are 31-23 and have made the playoffs all five years. It is one of the best, if not the best, turn around job in Georgia High School Football history. Coach Pfiester and Coach Parker talk about what it takes to turn a program around.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Parker Resource podcast was brought to you by our platinum sponsor,
SID Services Ads and Coaches. Does the idea of a
sports information department at your school sound appealing? Sid Services
was founded with one goal in mind help athletic directors
and coaches with their sports information duties and responsibilities. Developed
a full service agency, they can help you with all
(00:20):
things sports information. SID Services will not graduate or lead
for another school. Instead, they will provide an ongoing and
knowledgeable resource for the entire athletic department. Their game plan
will be based off your needs, your wants, and your wishes.
Your direction will lead their services. For more information and
schedule an initial consultation, contact them today. Sid Services email
(00:43):
is info at sidh services dot com. That's info at
sid services dot com and their website is sid services
dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
All right, please be joined this time by one of
the absolute best turnaround jobs in the state of Georgia,
head coach coach Mike Feaster at Long County Coach, thanks
for joining.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Me, my pleasure man, I apprecia coach.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Man Long County had really struggled and you and I
talked and I remember this and I know you do too.
I was with my parents live in South Alabama, and
I was visiting them, like on the Fort of July
or something, and you and I had something scheduled. I
had to like run in the other room because I
wasn't even in my normal spot.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
And we got to talk, and I'm.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Looking up Long County's record as I'm talking to him, like,
oh my god. And I'm not saying it, hopefully I'm
not shut up to you, but I'm like, Coach, my goodness,
they've never even had a winning season, and.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
You guys back to back seven win seasons.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
I mean, you're in the playoffs again. I think you
know you got a chance to win in the playoffs.
I mean I know that's what your goal is. And
you know, anybody that is not familiar with that. Before
we can get into this, I mean, look up. When
I say we're talking today about how some tips to
turn around a program, we are talking to a man
who took over one of the absolute worst. And I
don't really know how to set coach, no disrespect to
(02:10):
the people a Long County before you, but it's a fact.
So Coach, first, congratulations, man, what what a what an
awesome thing for that community to just be relevant and competitive,
and I mean that's something man.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, well I appreciate the kind of words, and uh yeah,
it's you know, it's one of those things you kind
of sometimes don't know what you're getting into, but when
you want to be a head coach pretty bad, you're
willing to do a lot of different things. And but yeah,
there's there's no doubt that as a place that had struggled,
and a lot of the reasons why they struggle are
still they're still there. You know, we've we've made a
lot of progress in many areas, but you know, it's
(02:48):
there's it's a big job to fix, you know, a
school system, a school district, a community. You know, in
football can be the driving force behind it. And I
talk with our coaches all the time about how I
think we've done a really good job inside of our
walls with our kids and in our building, and the
other stuff has been slower and that's been frustrating for me.
(03:10):
But in terms of on the field, yes, we're competitive.
We've gotten to the point where we beat teams we're
supposed to beat. We've beaten some pretty good teams. But
now we got to take that next step and find
a way to beat a playoff team, to win a
playoff game.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yeah, coach, And so you know, you're kind of the
antithesis of what people like me or even our friend
Chris Lamb, a great dude. You know, we get on
here in the next few months and he's gonna say,
you know, oh, don't take that job.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Man.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
You know that's open for a reason, you know.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
And I say stuff like, don't be chasing these titles
and you know, get somewhere good and learn from some
good people and all that. And by the way, all
that is true. But the truth is people aren't gonna
listen to us. They want to be the head coach.
We'll give a damn what we say, right, but we
got it's good advice, you know, to stay at Buford.
If you're at Buford, don't take the long county job.
(04:04):
But at the same time, people are going to do it.
What I want to talk about today you, and I'm
to ask you a series of questions, is so you
did it. You took a job probably people told you
not to take, but it worked. And that is what
we all want. We want we want to be wrong
when we say stuff like that. So what do you
think as you look back, and I know that for
people not really knowing a lot about you, it's been
(04:25):
five or six years, right, I mean we're at so
I think five years ago, work forward to that. Which
things that come to mind that you know, if you
were telling a guy that's taking a job this year
that they struggled, what's he really in for?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Well, it's at Every place is different. But the football stuff,
you know that a lot of the talk from guys
like Lamb and yourself about the job stuff, it revolves
around things that are out of our control. As coaches,
admin community those kinds of things. We can't control very
much of that. But what you can control, you need
to make sure you have a plan for and that
(05:03):
you are one million percent committed to it. And that's
one thing that I do think that I had a
good vision and a good plan to take over a
place like Long County. Again, that plan and that vision
would not fit at places maybe in the metro or
places that had been more successful or maybe have a
track record of some you know of a system of
(05:26):
some kind. But when you take over a place that's
like one thirteen percent of their games have never been
in the playoffs, oh or one and thirty nine the
previous four years. It don't matter what you do. But
if you do it with some conviction and you coach
your kids up and you you know, uh, fix the
weight room and those kinds of daily things you can
you can turn it around. But again it's it's a
(05:48):
you gotta have a plan and stick to it. That's
been our biggest thing is that we had a vision
hell job.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
I was fortunate that twice I did. And that's why
your story has always.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Been so cool to me, is twice times I became
the head coach, it was at a place that was
either o to ten or one to nine the year before,
and the place that really struggled U and we were
able to turn around. I'm proud of that. Nothing like
what you did. I mean, yours is in a whole
nother level. But I did find a few consistencies. So
imn throw in some nuggets as you go. But I
(06:17):
think you got it one. I think I'll tell you
one thing and I saw it in you, and I
hope I did it too. You do have to commit
to the place. You know, you got to trust them
before they're going to trust you back. And I do
think a lot of people take these jobs at places
that have struggled, and it's they're not saying it, but
their actions are they just want to win some games.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
They go to another job.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
And I just felt like you wanted to be at
Long County, and the kids felt that, the community felt that,
and I hope Oak Chapel Hill and Pickens when I
worked there, felt that that I wanted to be there.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah. Absolutely, That's one thing that you know, when we
were offered the job, we were living in Fnhem County,
which is an hour and ten minutes away. Conceivably you
could make the drive and you could do it. But
all the years that we, you know, had applied and
tried to be a head coach, one of the things
we were committed to is being a part of that place.
And even though we loved our house at Effingham and
(07:10):
we'd only been there for two years, that was part
of the deal. And so, yeah, we're here, we're in town.
You know, one of our offensive linemen that's a sophomore
lives down the street from me. You know, I like,
I live in the neighborhood with all the you know,
a bunch of kids, and so we're a part of it.
One of the other parts of that is, you know,
as a head coach, you come in it's a whole
(07:30):
different place. Every place has their their own uniqueness. It
took me a little while to figure out what I
was going to be able to have an impact on.
And I think that I probably tried to bite off
more than I needed to, and I needed to focus
on our kids in football, and but I wanted to
you know, I'd been at academic places that had been
really good schools, South Effingham, Creek View, Kennison Mountain, places
(07:53):
that are known as academic schools that have good reputations.
I wanted our kids to have some of those same
things at Long County that I saw the kids at
those schools get. And sometimes those are out of our
control as football coach, and it frustrated me early on,
and I've learned to kind of pick and choose. But
those are the kind of things of being involved and
being invested in the school. That's part of it, too,
(08:16):
is that I want them to know I'm a teacher.
One of the greatest lessons I learned when I first
got started from Steve Hamilton, who's now up in Minnesota.
You're a school teacher that coaches football. You're not a
football coach that teaches school, you know, And so focus
on the building and focus on academics. And that's been
big for me and our program is to the teachers
know that I'm concerned about our kids and their academic
(08:37):
performance and give our kids the best chance to be
successful in all.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Of those areas. Yeah, coach, and I've seen that. I mean,
I've witnessed that you really are doing those things. But
I really do believe a genuineness or a believability is
a key of component of turning those programs around. Like
people have to believe in you and not just your
you know, your sales speech are most head coaches a
good salesman, But that believability that you really mean it,
(09:02):
Like you're not just saying this, You're not saying the
same speech.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
At every school.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
You're talking to them about their community and you want
to be a part of it. And I do think
it's great advice for people that can to move into
the school district, like just commit to them.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
And sometimes you think, man, I don't know, but listen,
this is true for everything in life.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
You're gonna have to trust other people sometimes before they
trust you back. You're just gonna have to put yourself
out there and you're gonna have to do it.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
I tell you one more thing, Coach, I want you
to go into depth on is I think when you
try and.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Turn a program around, and I think this is critical,
it's may actually number one, you better.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Find something unique.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
And one thing that stood out to me on the
day we talked when you first got that job, and
I was in my parents' house and it was July
fourth or whatever, Like I asked you about offense, defense,
best teams, whatever, and everything was unique.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
Like You're like, look, Coach, I don't care.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
We might lose every game, but we're not doing this
or we're doing this or we're now we're.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Gonna whole another series of these few guys that love coach.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
The Power Tea is next week, so we're gonna talk
the Power te Coach, but you bring it up, bring
up the Power t but we don't have to get
a bunch of detail bout because I want to actually
take that and make it its own thing. But talk
about just things you immediately, I mean from your time
at Creepbear, Kennessall Mountain or wherever, and you get this
job and you're like, Okay, I'm not scared.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
This is what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
And tell people I know some of the answer to that,
but tell anybody listening what that meant.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Well, the biggest thing is, it's just the consistency of work.
You know, work wins. I've worked for guys that are
hard working, guys that have grown up working for guys
that did things the right way and how you have
got to run a program. But the biggest thing was,
we're gonna get in the weight room. We're gonna get
big and strong. Assume be a priority. It's a non
negotiable and like you said about being genuine and authentic,
(10:45):
that was one of the things I talked about in
my interview process was that the weight room's paramount, and
every coach says that you get on there all these podcasts,
and that's we're going to commit to the weight room.
We've had eighteen individual state champions in the last five years.
At the GACA weight meet, we were set. We were
running up to breaming in a couple of years ago
by one point. So we've dang near won a state
championship and weightlift in that long county. So That's one
(11:07):
of the first things that I talked about being committed
to and has have not waivered. We have again, we
have won multiple state championships individually every single year because
that's important and that puts our kids in a position
to be successful. Once you got that going and they
saw that we're not wavering, it's not just like I said,
coach speak the first couple of weeks. Every days of
(11:28):
work day, our kids know when I walk in the
weight room and they hear me coming wednesdays of work day,
it's weigh and Wednesday, get under scale, get weight in.
Wednesday's a work day, and they hear that every day,
and you just you have to be that way. You've
got to be able to do that on a daily basis.
That was the first thing. And then about being unique. Yeah,
we have a system. We have a system that kind
of is the identity of a program, man, and we
(11:48):
talked about that in the past. Football programs are identified
by their offensive philosophy. You're an air raid team, you're
a triple team, you're a you know, a pro team, whatever.
We're a power tea team, and that's kind of become
the identity of our of our program. What we're known for,
and I do think that's a huge part of why
we've been able to close the gap and be competitive
as we are different. Very few Friday nights do we
(12:11):
walk out there and do we have the better looking
team in fart in terms of physicality and size and
all that. We do have a lot of talented players.
We don't have a lot of size. We don't have,
you know, some of the dynamic playmakers that other people do,
but we got a bunch of kids that are strong,
that work hard, that execute what we want them to do.
That uniqueness is a huge aspect of our program.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
You needed something as simple as you know, you were like, look,
we're just going to go for two.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
And I don't know if you still do that, but
I remember you telling me that.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Then we just looked, we ran the math, and we
felt like we could get more in half of them.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
And you know, I think that takes some balls, But
I also think when.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
You're trying to take a team that's won twenty games
in twenty years or whatever it was, then yeah, have
some balls.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Man, right.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
And the one thing that actually I stole it may
have been two years ago you had coach Stevenson from Calhoun,
and he thought about some some special teams, just some
program philosophies, and one of them is when you get
up two scores the on side kick and I remember
that and wrote it down and we've done that a
few times. So like, pick those nuggets of uniqueness and
things that you can apply to your program. We did
(13:18):
go over two for the first I think three years,
we never kicked the pat Actually, the funny story, the
first kick we ever actually executed we put in for
our Merry Person's playoff game a couple years ago. Try
to get like a trick kind of run a field
goal team out there to get them to burn a
timeout in a certain situation. And we practiced it all
week and we called it, I don't know, Saint our
(13:39):
kicker's name is Nick. We call it Saint Nick. And
we get down there in the third quarter and it's
getting and it's a ball game. It's still a tight game,
and we call Saint Nick and we run them out
there and we got caught because I'm a dumb ass
and I was a little late getting a call out
and he gets out there. Well, then we don't want
to burn time out on our trick play, hell, I
guess kick it and he's we snapped and making like
a thirty yard field goal. He had never hick a
(14:00):
pat before and he made that field goal. And so
that was unique. And we tried things and sometimes we
get caught, but it worked out. So but we have
a kicker now and we kick some pats now. But yeah,
we're not afraid to do those unique things. And because again,
at the end of the day, what's the alternative, you know,
and you know whatever.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
I feel like that's the best advice I can give
somebody that's trying to turn a struggling program around, you know,
on field stuff.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
I mean there's a lot off the field stuff too,
but I mean the own field stuff is like, look,
the dumbest thing you can do is.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Go out there and play Grace and Carrollton Buford football
with them when you're not you know, right, like I don't.
You don't have to do the power te you can get.
You don't have to be three high safety. You don't
have to have a rugby punt, you know, I have
to have a no field goals. I mean, but you
better find something like that, you know, if you don't
have a kicker, do a bunch of on side kicks.
You know, there's a guy named Kevin Kelly that did
all that in Arkansas for years. There's people on I
(14:52):
mean this part. We did one hundred podcasts on situational football. Like,
you've got plenty of opportunities to just pick up one
thing here and there.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
And just try. That doesn't mean they're always going to work.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
I actually appreciate you telling this story about you got
the team out there and it was too late, because stuff's.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
Not always gonna work. But I can guarantee you if
you do the same thing.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
They've always done, you're not gonna have a very different
results because one thing I learned coach, and maybe you
learned this.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
Maybe you didn't feel free to argue.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
But even though I took over teams that really sucked
the four or five years before I got there, and
in your case to twenty years, I feel like the
people were not good coaches or idiots or like it
just wasn't working out. You know, I'm trying to say,
like they were doing some stuff. If I went in
there and tried to do the same thing, then I
was gonna get the same result.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Right, Yeah, I think that's one thing that's been I
just kind of laugh it off now. But we have
some admin that have been around there a long time,
and they'll stand there and tell me about how much
more talented they were ten and fifteen years ago, you know.
And we have two guys that my first year there,
they had just got out of college and got drafted NFL.
Jamon Davis in the first round draft pick. I was
standing college player at Kentucky. You played in NFL for
(15:58):
five years. It's still kind of around and to recarbing
and play at Georgia Tech. And he was in the
league for a couple of years. They had those guys
in the same team and then never won more than
four games.
Speaker 5 (16:08):
And I'm like, and I'm thinking about it, and I
look at these admint and I'm like, well, maybe you
guys were the problem, Like you know what I mean, Like,
there's there's something systemic about why even though you claim.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
To have had all these better players that it didn't work.
Whatever that is. Some of it may have been just
number of coaches, though whatever times it is.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Coach sometimes it is like they've determined and now, of
course what I actually I didn't run the power team
but what I actually got a lot of mileage out
of in my time, because it was fifteen years before yours,
was like running more to spread stuff, running stuff quick tempo,
or running the ball. We actually ran the ball seventy
(16:48):
five or eighty percent of the time, but we spread
people out and used the h back and we played
really fast, and we tried to catch people going used
a million formations, and now everybody does that, so it's
actually pretty conventional. But that's why I like the power
T I think about playing now, it might run the eye,
or might run the wishbone or the wing you know,
it's the winged tea or something, because it's just a
little different. But being unconventional can really help when you're
(17:13):
I mean, like I said, if you're taking over a
struggling team. I found those things I found being genuine,
I found being unique.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
And then my last question.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
For you is more like off the field, like give me,
give me some tips that were beyond maybe X and
o's that you felt like were really important to you
guys making this turnaround.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
H That is funny because that's what I told you.
That's the area where I still think we have a
long ways to go. You know, getting getting parental involvement
in a community like ours has been extremely difficult, and
that's one of those things. Every off season I try
to reach out to people, Hey, what are you guys doing?
How do you do it?
Speaker 4 (17:52):
So that's in spite of it, I mean you are.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Well, we are. But again, that's one of those things.
As a coach, you're a fixer. Like I said, I
wanted to fix things in the school building. I realized
some of those things I had to let go.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
I wanted.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Our booster club does some really good things for our kids,
but at the end of the day, us getting pregame meals,
postgame meals, and some senior banners and a couple of
T shirts. That's kind of the extent of what we
can get. But we maximize that, you know what I mean,
we do the best we can for our kids with
that group that you know, getting some parents involved has
(18:28):
been big, but it's not very many, right, but the
ones that are there, extremely committed, have done a great job,
I think, doing some things in the community, done some
food drive kind of things, and whenever we have a chance,
and I'm very very fortunate have some coaches on staff
that are from Long County born and raised there and
have come back and are teaching and coaching with me.
And they're there and they're invested in the community, and
(18:48):
they have a lot of family there. Making those connections
to other you know, family members of our staff and
getting more of those people involved, that's a big deal
to find those connections. And then small towns like like Luduis,
see you have those connections. It's a way of finding
those and managing them and seeing what they can do
to assist you, and then what you can do for
that at the same time.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Yeah, absolutely, coach and I think I think in a
place that has struggled, it struggled for a reason. Like
I said, I went to two of them two and
you are not gonna check every box. You're not gonna
have great players, great community, great weight room, great facilities,
great administration.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
I mean, there's not and you're not even gonna once
you turn it around.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
And I actually wanted to highlight some of that because
I think some of the people that don't do the turnaround,
you know, they take the job, it's not working out.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
Five years later they're doing something different, right.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
They may blame it on the they didn't have those
two or three things. And while that is part of it,
I'm sure I feel like it's important to look yourself
in the mirror and say, you know what, even if
two of the three of these things don't work out,
we got to find a way to get it done
and be competitive, you know. And I think there is
a determination that I saw in you, and I still
do see in you that we're gonna get it done regardless.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
And that's the last component for me.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
Yeah, I you know, this is something and I try
with our staff. We talk about this a lot because
I've got a core group of guys. There's there's three
other coaches that have been there with me the entire time.
My offensive cornerator Stevie Hamlin, Stevie Harrison who's from Long County,
my defense cordiator Kenny Pickens came with me from South
and then our runner backs coach Chip Scott, who's a
(20:23):
Long County guy, he came there, I got there. Our
other assistants have rolled through a little bit, but that
core group has been with me the whole time, along
with coach mcfew's not our middle school coach, and that's
been Another thing is getting a varsity level coach down
if the middle school has been huge, that group, we
kinda we understand that we've done some good things, but
we also see that some of those things you talked
(20:45):
about in terms of the facilities, none of that's changed.
It's the same it's the same fieldhouse we had five
years ago, it's the same stadium, it's the same grass.
That's that's marginal. Now. We got a great robot painter.
You guys know about that. Shit was awesome. So that
was great.
Speaker 4 (20:59):
It was proud that robot painting is awesome.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
The weight roomy the month I got there, our principal,
Miss Lester, purchased new racks, which was needed. They were
original to the school. We got new racks and bars
and benches. That's been what's been added to the room
that's in that's five years now, and so we've got
some of those things. But a lot of those things
you mentioned, just like I said, those hurdles, they're still there.
But at the end of the day, when the kids
(21:23):
show up at fourth Block tomorrow, they're asking to still squad.
It doesn't matter what the bars look like, with the
bench look like what, it doesn't matter. We're still going
to go to work and because the kids know that
that's the way we do things. And I can't waiver,
and our staff can't waiver because if we do, if
we let those excuses come in, well then that that's
why they were like they were the previous you know,
twenty three years or whatever. So we just don't even
(21:45):
allow that to happen. I'm not sure why I don't
have that in me, but I don't. And that's probably
a good thing many days, and some days it's probably
a detriment. But there's just no other option than to
go to work and find a way to get better.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
That mindset is why y'all are win.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
IR's why you've been able to turn the corner a
little bit, I'm telling you, because adversity is inevitable, you know,
whether it's on the field or off. I mean, things
are not going to go your way always, and just
ability to accept that but still push yourself, you know,
because it, like I said, the job was open for
a reason, right, I mean, there's gonna be some issues.
I always say it like this. With that lesson is,
you know, folks, on what you have, not what you don't.
(22:22):
So yes, you do not have and I'm gonna saying
you personally, but whoever's listenings, Yes, you don't have the
facility your neighbor has, or you don't have the coach
supplement your neighbor has, or enough openings or whatever it
is that's there. You don't have to lie about it,
I guess. But if that's where your brain's go in
every day, you got a problem. And when I got
to I remember get to Chapel Hill High School, which
(22:42):
was I think they were like fifteen and seventy five
or something before I got there, so not quite that
but not too far off. And we won nine games
my first year, and it's really what allowed me to
do even what I'm doing now, probably because it immediately
got my name on the map a little bit kind
of like you've been able to do, you know. And
but really what happened was I get in there, and
(23:05):
you know, immediately, I'll be honest, I really I don't
think I did a very good job for the first
couple of months, you know, like January February March, because
I was worried about a bunch of stuff that didn't matter,
and a couple veteran coaches kind of put me on
my place a little bit, whether they knew it or not,
by just kind of some of the questions they're asking
me when I'm whineing, and and you just start looking
around and you're like, damn, like these these kids in
(23:27):
the gym like playing basketball, there are football We're pretty
damn athletic, Like how do they not win a game
with these guys?
Speaker 4 (23:32):
Yeah? You know.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
And so once my mindset shifted to, man, look what
I got that we didn't have that as a quill.
Look at this receiver, look at this or you know,
look at this guy, look at that, you know, and
I just and all that other stuff was still there.
We had a locker room with the basketball and soccer team.
One room had only had it for a couple of months.
I had to get out, you know, like a basketball
locker room. We had to walk about a half a
(23:54):
mile to the field to the practice field.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
I'm not joking.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
So, but I don't know why that bothered me, And
one day it just didn't anymore.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
It was still there.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Don't get me wrong, Like you you're you're not You're
just not bothered by this, you know the difference.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
They're still there, and we would damn sure fix them
if we could.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
The focus became on, man, what an opportunity, right, what
an opportunity We got these athletes. You had these NFL
players coming through there before you got there, Like, that's
your focus.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
Man, they got some NFL players here. There wasn't no
NFL players on that Woodland team.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
You had no a bunch of good kids though, but yeah,
no NFL players. So but yeah, you're right, And I
think again, it just goes back to what's important. And
it's taken me several years as the head coach to
figure that out because again it's it's there's a it's
a big job. There's a lot of things to think about.
But at the end of the day, I joke all
the time with my AD. He'll bring me some issue
(24:49):
or some question or something, and I just say, block
tackle fake, block tackle fake. I'm just going to teach
our kids to block tackle and cure out their fakes.
And that's what I can control. And and one great
lesson I got this summer from a mentor of mine
who's down on Florida now is the two above and
two below theory. I work for the two people above me.
That's my AD because Reggie Wilks, my principal, mister Brian Thomas.
(25:09):
Those are the two people I worry about. They need
me to do something, I'm gonna do it. And the
two groups below me, my assistant coaches and my players.
And that's my world, that's my circle, and that's what
I'm worried about. I don't care what they say downtown.
It's Supertennis office. I really don't give a crap. I'm
gonna worry about what my principal, my ad say. I'm
gonna do the best I can for our coaches and
our kids, and we're going to coach them up. And
that's how we're gonna roll.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
Actually really good advice. Man to steal that one.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
That's really good, and it is one of the things
that's easier to say than to do. Like I thing,
it is easy to say or to do, but the
people who are being successful like you, are actually doing
those things for real. Worry about the two above and below.
You don't just say you're gonna and then you're actually
obsessing with what the other person did say. You know, yeah,
(25:53):
really good. So last question we'll go.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
We'll end this one.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Is there any vice or anything I didn't ask you.
I guess that come to mind on somebody right now
is listening to this and they're either in the mix
for one of these jobs or they're getting it, like,
and what's something we haven't talked about that you think, man,
this this is it. You better listen to me on
(26:19):
this because I've been there.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
I guess like it goes back to the authenticity. If
it's something that you talked about in the in the process,
something you talk about in the interview or in your
meetings with the admin or whoever. Again, all these scenario
is different. If it's a one man show higher in
her if it's a committee at twelve, whatever it is,
the people that were you know, that shows you that
you better make sure that the things that you you
(26:42):
know sold to them or your vision that you can
carry that out. And I remember one question from a
guy that's now our superintendent. He was assistant at the time,
and he said, Coach, if we're in a scenario and
it's you know, we score in the fourth quarter, we
got to go for two to make the playoffs, you
gotta go for too or kick it. And I said, utequivalently,
(27:02):
one million percent. We're going for two One, because that's
what we're gonna do anyway. But for two, if you're
at Long County and you're in that scenario, you just
got to go and go for it. So my point is,
whatever that vision is, you gotta be willing to stick
to it. And so before you go sell it, you
better make sure that you're in that vision and you
better make sure that you are committed to it, because
if if it's not what you truly are, then you're
never gonna it's never gonna work because you got to
(27:23):
be you. And that goes back to thinking that authenticity
and what you promise them, you better attempt to deliver.
And if you do and it doesn't work out and
you don't win enough games and they fire your butt,
is what it is. But you did it your way,
and you did it the best way that you thought possible.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
That's a That's a great answer, man, that's a great answer,
because that is the move. It might not work out,
you might get run off, but at least, for God's sake,
do it the way you said you're gonna do it. God,
it's such good advice, and people don't do it.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
They all. I can't tell you.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
I bet nine out of every ten guys I know
that got run off somewhere nine out of every ten.
Speaker 4 (27:58):
That means ninety percent.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
When it's over felt like they're disappointed that they ended
up doing it somebody else's way and it didn't work out.
I mean that, man, that happens so often, So just
do it your way and then, and you are so
right on this. Don't try to trick people into hiring me,
even though I know you desperately want this job.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
I know you want it bad. Don't try to trick
them into hiring you.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
You better tell them what you're really going to do,
because that's the only way to that have long term success.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
This time of year. And listen, I listened again every
one of your podcasts, all of miss podcasts. I take
in all the coaching content I can, and all these
stories about these guys that it seems like nobody ever
applied for joby where they just get these random phone
calls from everybody. Well, nobody's ass has called me in
five years. Because I'm gonna tell them, if you don't
want to run the powerty and you want to throw
the ball three times a game, I ain't your man,
(28:50):
and I don't know what I saw me, and that's okay.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
Let me pull back the curtain a little bit.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Okay, maybe Chris might be mad at me for this,
let me pull back the curtain.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
That's all a bunch of bullshit.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Then people applied for them jobs, and maybe just maybe
Carrollton called Joey King.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
That may have happened.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
I'm not saying that didn't, but most of the time
that didn't happen. When they say I got a call
about that meant somebody on the staff called and said, hey,
did you hear that place is open?
Speaker 4 (29:21):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Yeah, I'm half joking, but that stuff grives me bonkers
because at the end of the day, just that's show
where you're at and if it's a fit, it'll figure
it out. And if it's not, just keep doing your thing.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
Yeah that's true, coach, I mean it is.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
But the greatest advice you can give anybody, and I
mean I hear it so often, but the greatest advice
can be summed up in an easy sense.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
Just do a good job what you're doing right now.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Like if you're leading the robot that's painting the field,
you just be the best damn leader of the robot
that paints the field, or if you're the decordinator somewhere,
be the decordinator and then things will happen. I mean,
you will get opportunities and you do. Listen, people aren't
going to call you. You are going to need to
apply for jobs. You're gonna need to be proactive. Don't
be ashamed to be proactive. But while this is like
(30:07):
Long County is playing in the state playoffs and I'm
coaching that Long County, let's just try to be the
best one of these I can be today and some
of that other stuff will come a little more natural.
Speaker 4 (30:17):
And that's just I'm.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Telling you, coach, I appreciate you and your often I
do appreciate your authenticity.
Speaker 4 (30:23):
And that's a good word. I think that's so critical
in turning these programs around.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
It's just having a guy that really wants to be there,
that really wants to be authentic, that has some unique opportunities,
and those things are just critical. And focus on what
you have, wh's not what you're don't. I mean, I
think that's that's what I gather from you. But that's
what I've I've witnessed myself same thing. So appreciate taking
some time, and hey, people need to tune in next week.
Now give them a little you know rate, Maybe you
won't be in the radio if if you quit coaching
(30:48):
like me, getting radio business. You know, you gotta have
like a tea. So tell them next week we're gonna
talk about the Power Tea.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Right, let's go.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
This is the number one video on our YouTube. The
thing more people have watched than any other video I've
ever posted on YouTube was coach Feaster Little. I'm talking
like a fifteen minute clip of you talking about the
Power Team. So the Power it's one of them things
like people don't want to admit that they like you
know what I mean, Like they don't want to admit
that they like it. It's got like soap operas or something, right,
(31:18):
they don't want to admit they watch them, but they do.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
That's what I see. So ye port next week.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Baby, all right? Sounds good.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
The Parker Resource Podcast brought to you by Coastal Sports Turf.
Coastal Sports Turf mission is to provide beautiful, healthy and
safe natural turf grass playing surfaces for athletes.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
And coaches in Georgia.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Many school systems cannot afford a licensed professional turf Grass Manager.
They have over twenty five years of experience in turf
grass management and are licensing bonded in Georgia providing weeded
insect control plus fird tip fertility programs designed to fit
your expectations for a quality athletic turf surface. You can
have the field of your dreams with Coastal Sports Turf.
(32:00):
Many coaches and staff have to maintain their fields and
they desire to have dependable equipment to use. Coastal Sports
Turf carries equipment designed for athletic field maintenance like real mowers,
infield rates, blowers and other turf equipment. You can email
Coastal Sports Turf LLC at gmail dot com. That's Coastal
Sports Turf LLC at gmail dot com, or follow them
(32:21):
on Twitter at CST three zero four three nin Buck
(48:12):
Bucky
Parker Resource podcast was brought to you by our platinum sponsor,
SID Services Ads and Coaches. Does the idea of a
sports information department at your school sound appealing? Sid Services
was founded with one goal in mind help athletic directors
and coaches with their sports information duties and responsibilities. Developed
a full service agency, they can help you with all
(00:20):
things sports information. SID Services will not graduate or lead
for another school. Instead, they will provide an ongoing and
knowledgeable resource for the entire athletic department. Their game plan
will be based off your needs, your wants, and your wishes.
Your direction will lead their services. For more information and
schedule an initial consultation, contact them today. Sid Services email
(00:43):
is info at sidh services dot com. That's info at
sid services dot com and their website is sid services
dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
All right, please be joined this time by one of
the absolute best turnaround jobs in the state of Georgia,
head coach coach Mike Feaster at Long County Coach, thanks
for joining.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Me, my pleasure man, I apprecia coach.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Man Long County had really struggled and you and I
talked and I remember this and I know you do too.
I was with my parents live in South Alabama, and
I was visiting them, like on the Fort of July
or something, and you and I had something scheduled. I
had to like run in the other room because I
wasn't even in my normal spot.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
And we got to talk, and I'm.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Looking up Long County's record as I'm talking to him, like,
oh my god. And I'm not saying it, hopefully I'm
not shut up to you, but I'm like, Coach, my goodness,
they've never even had a winning season, and.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
You guys back to back seven win seasons.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
I mean, you're in the playoffs again. I think you
know you got a chance to win in the playoffs.
I mean I know that's what your goal is. And
you know, anybody that is not familiar with that. Before
we can get into this, I mean, look up. When
I say we're talking today about how some tips to
turn around a program, we are talking to a man
who took over one of the absolute worst. And I
don't really know how to set coach, no disrespect to
(02:10):
the people a Long County before you, but it's a fact.
So Coach, first, congratulations, man, what what a what an
awesome thing for that community to just be relevant and competitive,
and I mean that's something man.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, well I appreciate the kind of words, and uh yeah,
it's you know, it's one of those things you kind
of sometimes don't know what you're getting into, but when
you want to be a head coach pretty bad, you're
willing to do a lot of different things. And but yeah,
there's there's no doubt that as a place that had struggled,
and a lot of the reasons why they struggle are
still they're still there. You know, we've we've made a
lot of progress in many areas, but you know, it's
(02:48):
there's it's a big job to fix, you know, a
school system, a school district, a community. You know, in
football can be the driving force behind it. And I
talk with our coaches all the time about how I
think we've done a really good job inside of our
walls with our kids and in our building, and the
other stuff has been slower and that's been frustrating for me.
(03:10):
But in terms of on the field, yes, we're competitive.
We've gotten to the point where we beat teams we're
supposed to beat. We've beaten some pretty good teams. But
now we got to take that next step and find
a way to beat a playoff team, to win a
playoff game.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yeah, coach, And so you know, you're kind of the
antithesis of what people like me or even our friend
Chris Lamb, a great dude. You know, we get on
here in the next few months and he's gonna say,
you know, oh, don't take that job.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Man.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
You know that's open for a reason, you know.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
And I say stuff like, don't be chasing these titles
and you know, get somewhere good and learn from some
good people and all that. And by the way, all
that is true. But the truth is people aren't gonna
listen to us. They want to be the head coach.
We'll give a damn what we say, right, but we
got it's good advice, you know, to stay at Buford.
If you're at Buford, don't take the long county job.
(04:04):
But at the same time, people are going to do it.
What I want to talk about today you, and I'm
to ask you a series of questions, is so you
did it. You took a job probably people told you
not to take, but it worked. And that is what
we all want. We want we want to be wrong
when we say stuff like that. So what do you
think as you look back, and I know that for
people not really knowing a lot about you, it's been
(04:25):
five or six years, right, I mean we're at so
I think five years ago, work forward to that. Which
things that come to mind that you know, if you
were telling a guy that's taking a job this year
that they struggled, what's he really in for?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Well, it's at Every place is different. But the football stuff,
you know that a lot of the talk from guys
like Lamb and yourself about the job stuff, it revolves
around things that are out of our control. As coaches,
admin community those kinds of things. We can't control very
much of that. But what you can control, you need
to make sure you have a plan for and that
(05:03):
you are one million percent committed to it. And that's
one thing that I do think that I had a
good vision and a good plan to take over a
place like Long County. Again, that plan and that vision
would not fit at places maybe in the metro or
places that had been more successful or maybe have a
track record of some you know of a system of
(05:26):
some kind. But when you take over a place that's
like one thirteen percent of their games have never been
in the playoffs, oh or one and thirty nine the
previous four years. It don't matter what you do. But
if you do it with some conviction and you coach
your kids up and you you know, uh, fix the
weight room and those kinds of daily things you can
you can turn it around. But again it's it's a
(05:48):
you gotta have a plan and stick to it. That's
been our biggest thing is that we had a vision
hell job.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
I was fortunate that twice I did. And that's why
your story has always.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Been so cool to me, is twice times I became
the head coach, it was at a place that was
either o to ten or one to nine the year before,
and the place that really struggled U and we were
able to turn around. I'm proud of that. Nothing like
what you did. I mean, yours is in a whole
nother level. But I did find a few consistencies. So
imn throw in some nuggets as you go. But I
(06:17):
think you got it one. I think I'll tell you
one thing and I saw it in you, and I
hope I did it too. You do have to commit
to the place. You know, you got to trust them
before they're going to trust you back. And I do
think a lot of people take these jobs at places
that have struggled, and it's they're not saying it, but
their actions are they just want to win some games.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
They go to another job.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
And I just felt like you wanted to be at
Long County, and the kids felt that, the community felt that,
and I hope Oak Chapel Hill and Pickens when I
worked there, felt that that I wanted to be there.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah. Absolutely, That's one thing that you know, when we
were offered the job, we were living in Fnhem County,
which is an hour and ten minutes away. Conceivably you
could make the drive and you could do it. But
all the years that we, you know, had applied and
tried to be a head coach, one of the things
we were committed to is being a part of that place.
And even though we loved our house at Effingham and
(07:10):
we'd only been there for two years, that was part
of the deal. And so, yeah, we're here, we're in town.
You know, one of our offensive linemen that's a sophomore
lives down the street from me. You know, I like,
I live in the neighborhood with all the you know,
a bunch of kids, and so we're a part of it.
One of the other parts of that is, you know,
as a head coach, you come in it's a whole
(07:30):
different place. Every place has their their own uniqueness. It
took me a little while to figure out what I
was going to be able to have an impact on.
And I think that I probably tried to bite off
more than I needed to, and I needed to focus
on our kids in football, and but I wanted to
you know, I'd been at academic places that had been
really good schools, South Effingham, Creek View, Kennison Mountain, places
(07:53):
that are known as academic schools that have good reputations.
I wanted our kids to have some of those same
things at Long County that I saw the kids at
those schools get. And sometimes those are out of our
control as football coach, and it frustrated me early on,
and I've learned to kind of pick and choose. But
those are the kind of things of being involved and
being invested in the school. That's part of it, too,
(08:16):
is that I want them to know I'm a teacher.
One of the greatest lessons I learned when I first
got started from Steve Hamilton, who's now up in Minnesota.
You're a school teacher that coaches football. You're not a
football coach that teaches school, you know, And so focus
on the building and focus on academics. And that's been
big for me and our program is to the teachers
know that I'm concerned about our kids and their academic
(08:37):
performance and give our kids the best chance to be
successful in all.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Of those areas. Yeah, coach, and I've seen that. I mean,
I've witnessed that you really are doing those things. But
I really do believe a genuineness or a believability is
a key of component of turning those programs around. Like
people have to believe in you and not just your
you know, your sales speech are most head coaches a
good salesman, But that believability that you really mean it,
(09:02):
Like you're not just saying this, You're not saying the
same speech.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
At every school.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
You're talking to them about their community and you want
to be a part of it. And I do think
it's great advice for people that can to move into
the school district, like just commit to them.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
And sometimes you think, man, I don't know, but listen,
this is true for everything in life.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
You're gonna have to trust other people sometimes before they
trust you back. You're just gonna have to put yourself
out there and you're gonna have to do it.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
I tell you one more thing, Coach, I want you
to go into depth on is I think when you
try and.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Turn a program around, and I think this is critical,
it's may actually number one, you better.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Find something unique.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
And one thing that stood out to me on the
day we talked when you first got that job, and
I was in my parents' house and it was July
fourth or whatever, Like I asked you about offense, defense,
best teams, whatever, and everything was unique.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
Like You're like, look, Coach, I don't care.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
We might lose every game, but we're not doing this
or we're doing this or we're now we're.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Gonna whole another series of these few guys that love coach.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
The Power Tea is next week, so we're gonna talk
the Power te Coach, but you bring it up, bring
up the Power t but we don't have to get
a bunch of detail bout because I want to actually
take that and make it its own thing. But talk
about just things you immediately, I mean from your time
at Creepbear, Kennessall Mountain or wherever, and you get this
job and you're like, Okay, I'm not scared.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
This is what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
And tell people I know some of the answer to that,
but tell anybody listening what that meant.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Well, the biggest thing is, it's just the consistency of work.
You know, work wins. I've worked for guys that are
hard working, guys that have grown up working for guys
that did things the right way and how you have
got to run a program. But the biggest thing was,
we're gonna get in the weight room. We're gonna get
big and strong. Assume be a priority. It's a non
negotiable and like you said about being genuine and authentic,
(10:45):
that was one of the things I talked about in
my interview process was that the weight room's paramount, and
every coach says that you get on there all these podcasts,
and that's we're going to commit to the weight room.
We've had eighteen individual state champions in the last five years.
At the GACA weight meet, we were set. We were
running up to breaming in a couple of years ago
by one point. So we've dang near won a state
championship and weightlift in that long county. So That's one
(11:07):
of the first things that I talked about being committed
to and has have not waivered. We have again, we
have won multiple state championships individually every single year because
that's important and that puts our kids in a position
to be successful. Once you got that going and they
saw that we're not wavering, it's not just like I said,
coach speak the first couple of weeks. Every days of
(11:28):
work day, our kids know when I walk in the
weight room and they hear me coming wednesdays of work day,
it's weigh and Wednesday, get under scale, get weight in.
Wednesday's a work day, and they hear that every day,
and you just you have to be that way. You've
got to be able to do that on a daily basis.
That was the first thing. And then about being unique. Yeah,
we have a system. We have a system that kind
of is the identity of a program, man, and we
(11:48):
talked about that in the past. Football programs are identified
by their offensive philosophy. You're an air raid team, you're
a triple team, you're a you know, a pro team, whatever.
We're a power tea team, and that's kind of become
the identity of our of our program. What we're known for,
and I do think that's a huge part of why
we've been able to close the gap and be competitive
as we are different. Very few Friday nights do we
(12:11):
walk out there and do we have the better looking
team in fart in terms of physicality and size and
all that. We do have a lot of talented players.
We don't have a lot of size. We don't have,
you know, some of the dynamic playmakers that other people do,
but we got a bunch of kids that are strong,
that work hard, that execute what we want them to do.
That uniqueness is a huge aspect of our program.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
You needed something as simple as you know, you were like, look,
we're just going to go for two.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
And I don't know if you still do that, but
I remember you telling me that.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Then we just looked, we ran the math, and we
felt like we could get more in half of them.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
And you know, I think that takes some balls, But
I also think when.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
You're trying to take a team that's won twenty games
in twenty years or whatever it was, then yeah, have
some balls.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Man, right.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
And the one thing that actually I stole it may
have been two years ago you had coach Stevenson from Calhoun,
and he thought about some some special teams, just some
program philosophies, and one of them is when you get
up two scores the on side kick and I remember
that and wrote it down and we've done that a
few times. So like, pick those nuggets of uniqueness and
things that you can apply to your program. We did
(13:18):
go over two for the first I think three years,
we never kicked the pat Actually, the funny story, the
first kick we ever actually executed we put in for
our Merry Person's playoff game a couple years ago. Try
to get like a trick kind of run a field
goal team out there to get them to burn a
timeout in a certain situation. And we practiced it all
week and we called it, I don't know, Saint our
(13:39):
kicker's name is Nick. We call it Saint Nick. And
we get down there in the third quarter and it's
getting and it's a ball game. It's still a tight game,
and we call Saint Nick and we run them out
there and we got caught because I'm a dumb ass
and I was a little late getting a call out
and he gets out there. Well, then we don't want
to burn time out on our trick play, hell, I
guess kick it and he's we snapped and making like
a thirty yard field goal. He had never hick a
(14:00):
pat before and he made that field goal. And so
that was unique. And we tried things and sometimes we
get caught, but it worked out. So but we have
a kicker now and we kick some pats now. But yeah,
we're not afraid to do those unique things. And because again,
at the end of the day, what's the alternative, you know,
and you know whatever.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
I feel like that's the best advice I can give
somebody that's trying to turn a struggling program around, you know,
on field stuff.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
I mean there's a lot off the field stuff too,
but I mean the own field stuff is like, look,
the dumbest thing you can do is.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Go out there and play Grace and Carrollton Buford football
with them when you're not you know, right, like I don't.
You don't have to do the power te you can get.
You don't have to be three high safety. You don't
have to have a rugby punt, you know, I have
to have a no field goals. I mean, but you
better find something like that, you know, if you don't
have a kicker, do a bunch of on side kicks.
You know, there's a guy named Kevin Kelly that did
all that in Arkansas for years. There's people on I
(14:52):
mean this part. We did one hundred podcasts on situational football. Like,
you've got plenty of opportunities to just pick up one
thing here and there.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
And just try. That doesn't mean they're always going to work.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
I actually appreciate you telling this story about you got
the team out there and it was too late, because stuff's.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
Not always gonna work. But I can guarantee you if
you do the same thing.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
They've always done, you're not gonna have a very different
results because one thing I learned coach, and maybe you
learned this.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
Maybe you didn't feel free to argue.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
But even though I took over teams that really sucked
the four or five years before I got there, and
in your case to twenty years, I feel like the
people were not good coaches or idiots or like it
just wasn't working out. You know, I'm trying to say,
like they were doing some stuff. If I went in
there and tried to do the same thing, then I
was gonna get the same result.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Right, Yeah, I think that's one thing that's been I
just kind of laugh it off now. But we have
some admin that have been around there a long time,
and they'll stand there and tell me about how much
more talented they were ten and fifteen years ago, you know.
And we have two guys that my first year there,
they had just got out of college and got drafted NFL.
Jamon Davis in the first round draft pick. I was
standing college player at Kentucky. You played in NFL for
(15:58):
five years. It's still kind of around and to recarbing
and play at Georgia Tech. And he was in the
league for a couple of years. They had those guys
in the same team and then never won more than
four games.
Speaker 5 (16:08):
And I'm like, and I'm thinking about it, and I
look at these admint and I'm like, well, maybe you
guys were the problem, Like you know what I mean, Like,
there's there's something systemic about why even though you claim.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
To have had all these better players that it didn't work.
Whatever that is. Some of it may have been just
number of coaches, though whatever times it is.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Coach sometimes it is like they've determined and now, of
course what I actually I didn't run the power team
but what I actually got a lot of mileage out
of in my time, because it was fifteen years before yours,
was like running more to spread stuff, running stuff quick tempo,
or running the ball. We actually ran the ball seventy
(16:48):
five or eighty percent of the time, but we spread
people out and used the h back and we played
really fast, and we tried to catch people going used
a million formations, and now everybody does that, so it's
actually pretty conventional. But that's why I like the power
T I think about playing now, it might run the eye,
or might run the wishbone or the wing you know,
it's the winged tea or something, because it's just a
little different. But being unconventional can really help when you're
(17:13):
I mean, like I said, if you're taking over a
struggling team. I found those things I found being genuine,
I found being unique.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
And then my last question.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
For you is more like off the field, like give me,
give me some tips that were beyond maybe X and
o's that you felt like were really important to you
guys making this turnaround.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
H That is funny because that's what I told you.
That's the area where I still think we have a
long ways to go. You know, getting getting parental involvement
in a community like ours has been extremely difficult, and
that's one of those things. Every off season I try
to reach out to people, Hey, what are you guys doing?
How do you do it?
Speaker 4 (17:52):
So that's in spite of it, I mean you are.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Well, we are. But again, that's one of those things.
As a coach, you're a fixer. Like I said, I
wanted to fix things in the school building. I realized
some of those things I had to let go.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
I wanted.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Our booster club does some really good things for our kids,
but at the end of the day, us getting pregame meals,
postgame meals, and some senior banners and a couple of
T shirts. That's kind of the extent of what we
can get. But we maximize that, you know what I mean,
we do the best we can for our kids with
that group that you know, getting some parents involved has
(18:28):
been big, but it's not very many, right, but the
ones that are there, extremely committed, have done a great job,
I think, doing some things in the community, done some
food drive kind of things, and whenever we have a chance,
and I'm very very fortunate have some coaches on staff
that are from Long County born and raised there and
have come back and are teaching and coaching with me.
And they're there and they're invested in the community, and
(18:48):
they have a lot of family there. Making those connections
to other you know, family members of our staff and
getting more of those people involved, that's a big deal
to find those connections. And then small towns like like Luduis,
see you have those connections. It's a way of finding
those and managing them and seeing what they can do
to assist you, and then what you can do for
that at the same time.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Yeah, absolutely, coach and I think I think in a
place that has struggled, it struggled for a reason. Like
I said, I went to two of them two and
you are not gonna check every box. You're not gonna
have great players, great community, great weight room, great facilities,
great administration.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
I mean, there's not and you're not even gonna once
you turn it around.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
And I actually wanted to highlight some of that because
I think some of the people that don't do the turnaround,
you know, they take the job, it's not working out.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
Five years later they're doing something different, right.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
They may blame it on the they didn't have those
two or three things. And while that is part of it,
I'm sure I feel like it's important to look yourself
in the mirror and say, you know what, even if
two of the three of these things don't work out,
we got to find a way to get it done
and be competitive, you know. And I think there is
a determination that I saw in you, and I still
do see in you that we're gonna get it done regardless.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
And that's the last component for me.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
Yeah, I you know, this is something and I try
with our staff. We talk about this a lot because
I've got a core group of guys. There's there's three
other coaches that have been there with me the entire time.
My offensive cornerator Stevie Hamlin, Stevie Harrison who's from Long County,
my defense cordiator Kenny Pickens came with me from South
and then our runner backs coach Chip Scott, who's a
(20:23):
Long County guy, he came there, I got there. Our
other assistants have rolled through a little bit, but that
core group has been with me the whole time, along
with coach mcfew's not our middle school coach, and that's
been Another thing is getting a varsity level coach down
if the middle school has been huge, that group, we
kinda we understand that we've done some good things, but
we also see that some of those things you talked
(20:45):
about in terms of the facilities, none of that's changed.
It's the same it's the same fieldhouse we had five
years ago, it's the same stadium, it's the same grass.
That's that's marginal. Now. We got a great robot painter.
You guys know about that. Shit was awesome. So that
was great.
Speaker 4 (20:59):
It was proud that robot painting is awesome.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
The weight roomy the month I got there, our principal,
Miss Lester, purchased new racks, which was needed. They were
original to the school. We got new racks and bars
and benches. That's been what's been added to the room
that's in that's five years now, and so we've got
some of those things. But a lot of those things
you mentioned, just like I said, those hurdles, they're still there.
But at the end of the day, when the kids
(21:23):
show up at fourth Block tomorrow, they're asking to still squad.
It doesn't matter what the bars look like, with the
bench look like what, it doesn't matter. We're still going
to go to work and because the kids know that
that's the way we do things. And I can't waiver,
and our staff can't waiver because if we do, if
we let those excuses come in, well then that that's
why they were like they were the previous you know,
twenty three years or whatever. So we just don't even
(21:45):
allow that to happen. I'm not sure why I don't
have that in me, but I don't. And that's probably
a good thing many days, and some days it's probably
a detriment. But there's just no other option than to
go to work and find a way to get better.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
That mindset is why y'all are win.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
IR's why you've been able to turn the corner a
little bit, I'm telling you, because adversity is inevitable, you know,
whether it's on the field or off. I mean, things
are not going to go your way always, and just
ability to accept that but still push yourself, you know,
because it, like I said, the job was open for
a reason, right, I mean, there's gonna be some issues.
I always say it like this. With that lesson is,
you know, folks, on what you have, not what you don't.
(22:22):
So yes, you do not have and I'm gonna saying
you personally, but whoever's listenings, Yes, you don't have the
facility your neighbor has, or you don't have the coach
supplement your neighbor has, or enough openings or whatever it
is that's there. You don't have to lie about it,
I guess. But if that's where your brain's go in
every day, you got a problem. And when I got
to I remember get to Chapel Hill High School, which
(22:42):
was I think they were like fifteen and seventy five
or something before I got there, so not quite that
but not too far off. And we won nine games
my first year, and it's really what allowed me to
do even what I'm doing now, probably because it immediately
got my name on the map a little bit kind
of like you've been able to do, you know. And
but really what happened was I get in there, and
(23:05):
you know, immediately, I'll be honest, I really I don't
think I did a very good job for the first
couple of months, you know, like January February March, because
I was worried about a bunch of stuff that didn't matter,
and a couple veteran coaches kind of put me on
my place a little bit, whether they knew it or not,
by just kind of some of the questions they're asking
me when I'm whineing, and and you just start looking
around and you're like, damn, like these these kids in
(23:27):
the gym like playing basketball, there are football We're pretty
damn athletic, Like how do they not win a game
with these guys?
Speaker 4 (23:32):
Yeah? You know.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
And so once my mindset shifted to, man, look what
I got that we didn't have that as a quill.
Look at this receiver, look at this or you know,
look at this guy, look at that, you know, and
I just and all that other stuff was still there.
We had a locker room with the basketball and soccer team.
One room had only had it for a couple of months.
I had to get out, you know, like a basketball
locker room. We had to walk about a half a
(23:54):
mile to the field to the practice field.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
I'm not joking.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
So, but I don't know why that bothered me, And
one day it just didn't anymore.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
It was still there.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Don't get me wrong, Like you you're you're not You're
just not bothered by this, you know the difference.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
They're still there, and we would damn sure fix them
if we could.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
The focus became on, man, what an opportunity, right, what
an opportunity We got these athletes. You had these NFL
players coming through there before you got there, Like, that's
your focus.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
Man, they got some NFL players here. There wasn't no
NFL players on that Woodland team.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
You had no a bunch of good kids though, but yeah,
no NFL players. So but yeah, you're right, And I
think again, it just goes back to what's important. And
it's taken me several years as the head coach to
figure that out because again it's it's there's a it's
a big job. There's a lot of things to think about.
But at the end of the day, I joke all
the time with my AD. He'll bring me some issue
(24:49):
or some question or something, and I just say, block
tackle fake, block tackle fake. I'm just going to teach
our kids to block tackle and cure out their fakes.
And that's what I can control. And and one great
lesson I got this summer from a mentor of mine
who's down on Florida now is the two above and
two below theory. I work for the two people above me.
That's my AD because Reggie Wilks, my principal, mister Brian Thomas.
(25:09):
Those are the two people I worry about. They need
me to do something, I'm gonna do it. And the
two groups below me, my assistant coaches and my players.
And that's my world, that's my circle, and that's what
I'm worried about. I don't care what they say downtown.
It's Supertennis office. I really don't give a crap. I'm
gonna worry about what my principal, my ad say. I'm
gonna do the best I can for our coaches and
our kids, and we're going to coach them up. And
that's how we're gonna roll.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
Actually really good advice. Man to steal that one.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
That's really good, and it is one of the things
that's easier to say than to do. Like I thing,
it is easy to say or to do, but the
people who are being successful like you, are actually doing
those things for real. Worry about the two above and below.
You don't just say you're gonna and then you're actually
obsessing with what the other person did say. You know, yeah,
(25:53):
really good. So last question we'll go.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
We'll end this one.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Is there any vice or anything I didn't ask you.
I guess that come to mind on somebody right now
is listening to this and they're either in the mix
for one of these jobs or they're getting it, like,
and what's something we haven't talked about that you think, man,
this this is it. You better listen to me on
(26:19):
this because I've been there.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
I guess like it goes back to the authenticity. If
it's something that you talked about in the in the process,
something you talk about in the interview or in your
meetings with the admin or whoever. Again, all these scenario
is different. If it's a one man show higher in
her if it's a committee at twelve, whatever it is,
the people that were you know, that shows you that
you better make sure that the things that you you
(26:42):
know sold to them or your vision that you can
carry that out. And I remember one question from a
guy that's now our superintendent. He was assistant at the time,
and he said, Coach, if we're in a scenario and
it's you know, we score in the fourth quarter, we
got to go for two to make the playoffs, you
gotta go for too or kick it. And I said, utequivalently,
(27:02):
one million percent. We're going for two One, because that's
what we're gonna do anyway. But for two, if you're
at Long County and you're in that scenario, you just
got to go and go for it. So my point is,
whatever that vision is, you gotta be willing to stick
to it. And so before you go sell it, you
better make sure that you're in that vision and you
better make sure that you are committed to it, because
if if it's not what you truly are, then you're
never gonna it's never gonna work because you got to
(27:23):
be you. And that goes back to thinking that authenticity
and what you promise them, you better attempt to deliver.
And if you do and it doesn't work out and
you don't win enough games and they fire your butt,
is what it is. But you did it your way,
and you did it the best way that you thought possible.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
That's a That's a great answer, man, that's a great answer,
because that is the move. It might not work out,
you might get run off, but at least, for God's sake,
do it the way you said you're gonna do it. God,
it's such good advice, and people don't do it.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
They all. I can't tell you.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
I bet nine out of every ten guys I know
that got run off somewhere nine out of every ten.
Speaker 4 (27:58):
That means ninety percent.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
When it's over felt like they're disappointed that they ended
up doing it somebody else's way and it didn't work out.
I mean that, man, that happens so often, So just
do it your way and then, and you are so
right on this. Don't try to trick people into hiring me,
even though I know you desperately want this job.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
I know you want it bad. Don't try to trick
them into hiring you.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
You better tell them what you're really going to do,
because that's the only way to that have long term success.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
This time of year. And listen, I listened again every
one of your podcasts, all of miss podcasts. I take
in all the coaching content I can, and all these
stories about these guys that it seems like nobody ever
applied for joby where they just get these random phone
calls from everybody. Well, nobody's ass has called me in
five years. Because I'm gonna tell them, if you don't
want to run the powerty and you want to throw
the ball three times a game, I ain't your man,
(28:50):
and I don't know what I saw me, and that's okay.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
Let me pull back the curtain a little bit.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Okay, maybe Chris might be mad at me for this,
let me pull back the curtain.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
That's all a bunch of bullshit.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Then people applied for them jobs, and maybe just maybe
Carrollton called Joey King.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
That may have happened.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
I'm not saying that didn't, but most of the time
that didn't happen. When they say I got a call
about that meant somebody on the staff called and said, hey,
did you hear that place is open?
Speaker 4 (29:21):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Yeah, I'm half joking, but that stuff grives me bonkers
because at the end of the day, just that's show
where you're at and if it's a fit, it'll figure
it out. And if it's not, just keep doing your thing.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
Yeah that's true, coach, I mean it is.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
But the greatest advice you can give anybody, and I
mean I hear it so often, but the greatest advice
can be summed up in an easy sense.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
Just do a good job what you're doing right now.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Like if you're leading the robot that's painting the field,
you just be the best damn leader of the robot
that paints the field, or if you're the decordinator somewhere,
be the decordinator and then things will happen. I mean,
you will get opportunities and you do. Listen, people aren't
going to call you. You are going to need to
apply for jobs. You're gonna need to be proactive. Don't
be ashamed to be proactive. But while this is like
(30:07):
Long County is playing in the state playoffs and I'm
coaching that Long County, let's just try to be the
best one of these I can be today and some
of that other stuff will come a little more natural.
Speaker 4 (30:17):
And that's just I'm.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Telling you, coach, I appreciate you and your often I
do appreciate your authenticity.
Speaker 4 (30:23):
And that's a good word. I think that's so critical
in turning these programs around.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
It's just having a guy that really wants to be there,
that really wants to be authentic, that has some unique opportunities,
and those things are just critical. And focus on what
you have, wh's not what you're don't. I mean, I
think that's that's what I gather from you. But that's
what I've I've witnessed myself same thing. So appreciate taking
some time, and hey, people need to tune in next week.
Now give them a little you know rate, Maybe you
won't be in the radio if if you quit coaching
(30:48):
like me, getting radio business. You know, you gotta have
like a tea. So tell them next week we're gonna
talk about the Power Tea.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Right, let's go.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
This is the number one video on our YouTube. The
thing more people have watched than any other video I've
ever posted on YouTube was coach Feaster Little. I'm talking
like a fifteen minute clip of you talking about the
Power Team. So the Power it's one of them things
like people don't want to admit that they like you
know what I mean, Like they don't want to admit
that they like it. It's got like soap operas or something, right,
(31:18):
they don't want to admit they watch them, but they do.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
That's what I see. So ye port next week.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Baby, all right? Sounds good.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
The Parker Resource Podcast brought to you by Coastal Sports Turf.
Coastal Sports Turf mission is to provide beautiful, healthy and
safe natural turf grass playing surfaces for athletes.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
And coaches in Georgia.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Many school systems cannot afford a licensed professional turf Grass Manager.
They have over twenty five years of experience in turf
grass management and are licensing bonded in Georgia providing weeded
insect control plus fird tip fertility programs designed to fit
your expectations for a quality athletic turf surface. You can
have the field of your dreams with Coastal Sports Turf.
(32:00):
Many coaches and staff have to maintain their fields and
they desire to have dependable equipment to use. Coastal Sports
Turf carries equipment designed for athletic field maintenance like real mowers,
infield rates, blowers and other turf equipment. You can email
Coastal Sports Turf LLC at gmail dot com. That's Coastal
Sports Turf LLC at gmail dot com, or follow them
(32:21):
on Twitter at CST three zero four three nin Buck
(48:12):
Bucky
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.