It’s often hard to turn around losing high school football programs. Ronnie Baker, in his second season as head coach at Laney, said you have to get the players to believe in what you are trying to do. Luqman Salam, in his second season at Osborne, said he did what he thought was right for the kids. And Kevin Smith, in his sixth season at Perry, said a top-to-bottom culture change was needed.
All three coaches have turned around programs that have had long-time limited success.
In their own words, here’s how it happened:
Ronnie Baker, Laney
The Wildcats are 3-0 for the first time since 2007. Last year they had their first winning season since 2015 and first playoff appearance since 2016.
“The biggest thing is to sell the program and getting the kids to believe what you are selling when it comes to the style of football we want to play and what it takes to win.
“Then, you try to build character and characteristics and habits of winners. All winning programs have certain characteristics and habits, so we try to instill those into our players when we’re building our program. That’s biggest thing … is to instill into their minds and create that work ethic. That was the biggest challenge for me when I got here.
“We had some early success (the Wildcats beat top-five teams in each of their first two games), and the kids started buying into it. There are all kinds of slogans to believe in, but for me the biggest one here is ‘Lucy Laney High School.’ I asked them to think about that, then ask somebody about the tradition … who they’re following. That’s strong. That’s strong. Some of them went on to college and did great things or went to the NFL and did some great things. (Laney alum Jaylen Watson had a 99-yard interception return for the Chiefs on Sept. 15.) That gives you sense of where you’re at, and a sense of the program. It’s hard for me to tell you to play hard for the tradition of the program when you don’t know it. So I asked them find out what Laney means to the alumni. They came back with their answer, and that’s when they had a sense of pride.
“Then you talk about what it takes to be a winner and how you must work and behave not just on the field, but in the school building and in the community. That’s what I had to instill, and that’s what we’re still trying to do. We’ve got to be a football program, which means that we don’t want to just win this year, but the year after that, and after that.”
Luqman Salam, Osborne
The Cardinals went 3-54 the past six seasons, and are 4-0, despite not having won four games in a season since 1994.
“I don’t know that there’s magical things you do. Everyone talks about building and changing a culture. I didn’t focus on changing anything. I didn’t look at it that way. Kids are kids, and young men universally desire same thing, which includes some level of discipline, expectations — they want to have high expectations — and they want you to care about them.
“That’s what I wanted to do, and that’s despite any circumstances. ... I did what I thought was right by the kids, and that’s what I continue to do every single day. I don’t know if we’ve changed. There’s still a lot of football left, and there are a lot of things we still need to do well.
“Our focus doesn’t change. We’ve created a level of discipline; we have high expectations, and we care about them and show our love. ... There’s always a transition period, and there are people who don’t want that. There are young men who are always going to buck authority. Some don’t know how to handle expectations. Not all are going to stay on the journey. Some respond. Some don’t. But for most part, if you do the right things and you’re honest, young men will respond positively.”
Kevin Smith, Perry
The Panthers hadn’t won a region title since 1959 before winning Region 4-4A in each of the past two seasons. They’re 3-1 this season and ranked No. 4 in Class 4A.
“I think the big thing with us was the culture change, from administration, to coaches, to players and to the community. Winning helps culture grow rapidly, but the first two or three years here it felt like I was spinning wheels or that I was in quicksand and not getting anywhere.
“You’ve got to be persistent and build trust — that’s a big one. There was no trust when I got here. As a leader, you’ve got to share and teach your values. People have to buy into it.
“One of biggest things we did when I got here, the first book we read was ‘You Win in the Locker Room First’ (co-authored by former Falcons coach Mike Smith). He went from 10 yards of being in the Super Bowl to getting fired. That’s where we started.
“Then the Coffee Bean (Perry’s team slogan) came, and the building bought into that. Of course, you have to have good players. We’ve always had good players here at Perry; we just didn’t have good culture. You need a caring atmosphere, caring for players. You need relationships between the players, coaches and parents.
“When a kid goes home, there’s no telling what they’ll hear. But if you’re transparent and you have a relationship with the parents, then the parents can decide if they trust you. If you don’t have that relationship, it’s, ‘Oh, coach doesn’t know what he’s doing.’ You need those relationships, and we have them.
“So that’s why there are programs like ours that have come from nothing and are starting to reap some of the fruit. At the end of the day, I’ve coached for many years. (As an assistant) I’ve won two state titles and a lot of region championships, and we’ve played in the state championship 4-5 times.
“When I got here, we were the furthest from that. Now, the culture has changed and kids have bought in, and we’ve been consistent. ... Some coaches win at all costs. They come in recruiting players, doing unprofessional things, and yeah, they may win 2-3 state titles, but then they get embarrassed on TV when they lose one and their kids act like idiots because they weren’t taught how to handle losing. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you — the Golden Rule. I live it and preach it.”
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