Mike Franklin

The trade is the trade. Nobody forced you into it. If you chose football, you chose early mornings, sore legs, long lifts, hard coaching, hot summer workouts, and the expectation that you’ll show up ready to work whether you feel like it or not. Too many people want the rewards of the trade without accepting the cost of the trade. The truth is simple: the price was listed before you signed. So stop complaining about what comes with the job. Embrace it. Own it. Attack it. The trade is the trade.

High school football is Alabama like it use to be. You take a coaching job in a community. You start building your program. Get the kids in the weight room. Build relationships. Get the middle school kids involved. Get them in the weight room. (1)

As an AD, one of the biggest challenges is understanding what athletes and parents truly want. Everyone says they want to win, but too often the communication I receive is centered around why practice is being missed, why workouts can’t happen, or why the commitment isn’t possible. Winning is rarely about what happens on game day, it’s built in the unseen hours of preparation, consistency, and sacrifice. You cannot claim to want success while consistently avoiding the work required to achieve it. Too often, “we want to win” really means “we want the rewards of winning without the discomfort of earning it.” When that gap exists, the blame often shifts to the coach instead of the habits. Great programs are built when athletes, parents, and coaches all align in understanding that commitment comes before results. Wanting to win and being willing to do what it takes to win are two very different things.

KN 28 Holden 14. 3 way tie for the Conference title. First conference title since 1994!