New Coach Sparks New Energy
MC Savage, photography editor
The Colosseum stays the same, but new faces and leaders debut this football season. There’s a brand-new kind of energy around Johns Creek football this year. With a fresh coach on the sidelines and a new season right around the corner, everyone is excited for this beginning. After workouts, practices and adjusting to new coaching staff, the team is focused on showing what they can do under this new leadership.
Head coach Jason Tester is stepping into his first season with the Johns Creek football program, and he is bringing new ideas and expectations with him. Many of the players seem very excited about this change, and they are looking forward to using this coach change as a needed reset.
“The new coaches believe in us,” says Jake Blackwelder, a junior and football player at John’s Creek. He talks about the excitement surrounding the fresh coaching staff and their attitudes when it comes to Friday night games.
The excitement carries over from practices and games, and players are adjusting to the new routines. With the season underway, the Gladiators are pumped to see if this new start could be the step forward that they wanted, on and off the field.
Coach Tester is encouraged to create connections between players to build a strong team as well as building up the program and rallying excitement. Lots of fans and students may judge the team by the results of previous Friday nights, but with this refreshing adjustment, the team is putting in the work to improve even when no one is watching.
“Relationships are everything, no matter whether it’s football or in your profession… so that’s how we approach this program,” says Coach Tester.
With a new coaching staff taking over, experienced and returning players are also becoming leaders. Upperclassmen have been helping the team and underclassmen adjust and continue pushing the team to keep improving.
Leadership is becoming even more important now that the season has started. Football seasons don’t usually go exactly as planned, and the Glads know they will face difficult games and lots of unexpected challenges, which means new leadership is even more important now than ever. This year, they hope this will help them respond differently when those difficulties and challenging moments do come.
“The mindset is important after the last three to four years,” says Akachi Nwizubo, a senior at Johns Creek and football player. He talks about getting into the headspace in order to help the team thrive, especially under the circumstances from previous years as well as relearning a new set of coaches and younger players.
There will still be plenty to learn as the Gladiators play this season, and each match up will give Coach Tester and his team another chance to make improvements and adjust even more. But, this is just part of what makes this new season exciting, with new challenges, learning new players and coaches and even hopefully winning some tough games.
With a new coach leading the way of the Gladiators, the team is ready to embrace the change and Johns Creek High School has plenty to look forward to this football season.
