Glencoe, AL – Coach Scott Martin excited with opportunity at Glencoe, they got it started with a 27-6 win over Weaver Friday night
By Mark Everett Kelly
“Anything worth having is worth waiting for” is an example of how one might comfort someone suffering through a sustained rough patch. Such advice would be fitting for fans of Glencoe football.
Consider Barack Obama still occupying the White House the last time the Yellow Jackets enjoyed a winning season (2015). They’ve only won one more game in total than that last winning season produced since. Enter Coach Scott Martin and his .669 winning percentage (85-42) in his three previous stops as head coach. Success, particularly on offense, tends to occur under his tutelage. If fans at Glencoe doubt his techniques, one can’t ignore the striking similarities taking over Ohatchee in 2014 and what he inherited at Glencoe.
Each season possesses enough unique challenges for a head coach to handle. However, taking over a struggling program while proving yourself to a doubting community takes time and patience, something not always accessible during football season. Sustained losing can fester like a fungus, something of which Coach Martin is keenly aware.
As Martin led practice Thursday, players moved quickly between drills, each second meticulously organized to combat downtime. His players embrace his style, listen to his guidance and trust a system proven to work. The emotional price of losing takes time to rebuild and expect different results. “I have a lot of admiration for our 11 seniors, who have won four games in four years and I’m the fourth coach they’ve had,” Martin said. “We had to relearn everything. It’s easy to revert back to what you were. I’m going to hold our players to a high level of accountability, on and off the field.”
Things such as watching and breaking down performance via game film is part of the discipline needed for players and coaches to implement change. “We are going to coach you, teach you,” Martin told the players during a recent film session. “We are going to take the good things and expand on them, while learning how to get better” While not everyone gets a second chance, it’s what you do with that opportunity that people remember. Martin is excited to prove himself to Glencoe. [*** read more]
