When Kevin Healy took the football coaching job at Meadowbrook this year, he knew he’d be in for a challenge. After two months on the job, COVID-19 hit, pushing practices, workouts, and the season back. Despite that, there’s light at the end of the tunnel for a program which has faced many challenges.
“The program is in a full rebuild,” Healy said. “We are teaching the basics in the weight room, in accountability. We are re-teaching the kids on how to compete.”
The program is in the throes of a 21-game losing streak. After coach Adam Tiller left the program, L.C. Bird alum Chamont Thompson took the job but didn’t find the win column. the Monarchs had to look in a new direction.
“The kids had gotten used to losing,” said Healy. “We had to break that losing mindset.”
After he had established workouts and meeting with his student-athletes, the lockdown sent all local sports to a screeching halt. No practices. No in-person meetings. No weight room sessions. A big part of coaching is to adapt, and Healy and his staff did exactly that.
Zoom calls between position players and the coaching staff were immediately instituted. The team has held these position-based meetings weekly since April. In addition, Healy designed a football “curriculum” of sorts to teach his student-athletes from the ground up. Film of various college football teams was distributed to help the Monarchs start to learn their scheme.
Numbers have grown in students interested in coming back to the program. When Healy started, five students showed up to the first workout.
“It was a neglected program,” Healy said. “We’ve had more kids interested every day as time has gone on.”
“Our kids’ attention to detail and our expectations for daily work ethic have improved. I think the kids who are coming to our workouts have an appreciation for what is required to win.”
Time is one thing the program will need to get back to its highest points. In 2004, under coach Bill Bowles, Meadowbrook won a state championship. The team enjoyed several successful seasons under Troy Taylor (now at L.C. Bird), and Tiller and averaged a respectable seven wins per season from 2005-2017, with better years coming under Taylor’s guidance.
It’s truly a venture that will need to be accomplished step by step.
“We have a number of kids who have stepped up as leaders in their attendance at team meetings and workouts,” said Healy. “We hope to build on that.”
