Hopefully, this is the year the coaching carousel finally comes to an end for the W.R. Myers Rebels high school football team.
Matt Williams will be the sixth different coach the program has had since the run of Greg Saunders ended after a string of provincial championships. Saunders, himself, was part of the wheel of coaches, as his second stint with the team ended after he decided to move his family to Utah.
The ascension of Danny Bennett, a former player under Saunders, to the role of head coach last year, seemed to bring hope for stability. After all, Bennett was not only a graduate of the Myers football system, and a former provincial champion, but he was also a teacher at Myers.
That connection between the school and the team has been something which has been lacking at Myers for years.
Unfortunately, the dream of having a teacher/high school football coach who would be with the team long term, has been dashed, as Bennett plans to move to Raymond after this school year.
As with most successful sports programs at the high school level, whether it is football, volleyball or basketball, stability is the key. A coach that can build a team and run the same system year after year can have a lot of success. Players know what to expect from year to year, a reputation is built to help attract players and experience gained can be added upon year after year.
In a perfect world, that would be achieved by hiring a teacher with solid coaching qualifications to take over the program. However, that has not happened at Myers for the better part of the last decade, for whatever reason.
With that, the focus must be on keeping a coach for the long term, whether that be a teacher or a community member like Williams, who has a solid football background, and is also a graduate of the Myers Rebels football system.
Having a coach in place long term will help not only with the team on the field but off the field as well.
Coaches have a unique opportunity to not only teach a game, but also teach life skills. It is much easier to do both when players and a coaching staff have a built-in level of familiarity from year to year.