The Game Plan By Charles Prince

The North Jefferson News



Postseason awards honor athletes for great seasons. Like our All-North Jefferson Football team, which was released last Saturday, it was supposed to honor local high school football players who had shown fight and determination while playing outstanding football for their particular school.

The award process should be a happy time for recognition of a job well done, but it’s also a time for critics of the choices to voice their displeasure.

Believe me, there isn’t an All-Area or All-State team that doesn’t cause at least a few parents to complain.

After last Saturday’s announcement, some of our readers objected to the selections for the Lineman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards, as well as wondering why we had co-Coaches of the Year, instead of only one.

The players chosen were voted on by our area coaches. I know this about the head football coaches in the North Jefferson area—they’ve all been around the game for many years and they know the game inside and out, so I’m confident their picks were the best ones that could have been made.

As far as the Coach of the Year selection goes, that selection is mine.

The reason our paper named two Coaches of the Year, was because each coach did a great job and his club had different challenges to overcome and both Fultondale and Tabernacle met those challenges because of the leadership of Keith Register and Keith Dabbs.

At Fultondale, the Wildcats have to overcome a losing past. In sports, coaches have often told me that overcoming a losing-mentality is one of the hardest things for any team to accomplish.

The Wildcats had won only four games in the four years prior to the 2007 season. Instead of continuing to struggle, they learned how to win. According to Register his team had learned how to compete the year before as they stayed in nearly every game until the fourth quarter.

This past season, the Wildcats closed the gap between keeping games close and coming out on top.

The players going from an, “I think we can play this team tough,” to “We can win this game,” is no small task. It takes the right leader to build that confidence in athletes. Keith Register did a great job doing it this past season.

On the other hand, Keith Dabbs shouldn’t be left out either. His club went from a state semi-finalist in 2006 to a state champion in 2007.

Dabbs didn’t let the Torches get complacent this season. Tabernacle was expected to be the favorite for the 8-man title, but they didn’t stumble and fulfilled the promise of their potential by winning the title.

To my way of thinking, it was clear both coaches deserved the Coach of the Year award, so instead of leaving one out, we let them share the honor.