Photo Ivan Felipe
It was tough sledding for Armuchee last year. After winning their first three games of the season, they entered an extremely hard region slate, losing every game from there on out. The Indians finished the 3-8, winless in the region.
Enter new Head Coach Aaron Avery. Coming from the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, Avery brings in a strong resume, as he was the offensive coordinator of an offense that was ranked extremely high in Florida High School Football.
“Everyone has been super welcoming. Everyone that I have talked to has been extremely supportive and incredible, whether it has just been checking on me and my family or asking whatever they can do to help,” said Head Coach Aaron Avery. “I know my family has really embraced the opportunity to ingrain ourselves in this community. This is where I feel like I am called to be; everything lined up perfectly.”
“We did a padless spring. We wanted to ingrain our middle school program with our high school program. I want to develop kids for seven years instead of four years, so getting them involved was huge for us, and where they could get used to me. We have a bunch of new bodies out, and I want to give them the freedom to have a fresh start.”
As Coach Aaron Avery has made his way to Rome, he has implemented his own culture and expectations for how he wants his players to commit to excellence.
“The pillars of our culture here are gonna be relentless efforts. Giving everything that you’ve got from point A to point B is going to be competitive greatness and the constant pursuit of being the best version of yourself. I want our kids to kick down the door to greatness. Our challenge is making sure we can continue to do everything we can day in and day out to be slightly better to prepare ourselves. We have to promote as players and coaches all the right things. I want us to be so committed to each other that people on the outside think that we are crazy with the amount of connection that we have to each other.”
So far, the seniors have led the way for the vision that Coach Aaron Avery wants to instill back within the program. Tyler Warren, Jonas Ross, Logan Wellmaker, and Layne Rampley are some guys that are “buying into” what Aaron Avery wants to do. Junior Aidan Williams and sophomore Ryder Atkins are expected to be great on the offensive line. At linebacker, senior Cason Wade has been a tremendous leader throughout the offseason and has gone above and beyond. Sophomore Eston Collins has had an amazing offseason so far for the Indians at tight end.
“I’m excited for every day. Every day is a new experience, every day, there’s a different trial that challenges us to kind of overcome as a team to get better. Tomorrow is our next opportunity to accomplish the little things we need to accomplish.”
With a new head coach that brings a lot of joy and excitement, the Armuchee faithful should be ecstatic about the new vision and look about the program.
