Football preview
Blackhawks’ theme continues to make an impact
Cody Alexander still gets teary eyed thinking about it. His voice cracks a little when speaking about it.
Last school year, a Pea Ridge football player noticed a fellow student sitting alone, looking sad. The player approached the student, sat down beside him and listened as the student spoke about losing one of their parents in an automobile accident.
“No one knew what had happened and it was one of our kids who found out what was going on,” said Alexander, the Blackhawks’ offensive coordinator. “He came and told our coaches that (the player) had made his day … The power of one, you know.”
“The Power of One” may have been last season’s theme, but it continues to resonate with players and staff members. The team’s practice jerseys all have the No. 1 on them. When the team ordered new jerseys with the words “THE RIDGE” across the front, jersey No. 1 was not ordered.
When the Blackhawks participated in team camps this summer, Pea Ridge coach Stephen Neal received some light ribbing from other coaches about fielding an entire team of players wearing the No. 1.
“We get a lot of jokes,” Neal said. “They’re like, ‘Hey coach, did you get a special on the practice jerseys this year because they were all trying to get rid of the No. 1 jersey?’”
“The Power of One” is no joking matter for the Blackhawks. It’s why when Alexander asked for volunteers to “help a lady in town move some heavy stuff” after a recent practice, about half the team immediately raised their arms, without hesitation.
These guys care about more than just winning football games on Friday nights. They’re about winning in other ways off the field, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It’s also why the entire community seems to come out to return that support by filling up the stands.
“Impact one teammate, you can change a team,” Alexander said. “Impact one person, you can change a school. Impact one person in the community, you can help change our community.
“Our kids believe in that and live it every day.”
The idea for the theme was conceived by Neal’s wife, Jessica Neal, while the two were sitting on the couch and watching day one night last offseason. Neal had been reading and looking for a theme to encourage his players before heading into the 2017 campaign when his wife of 13 years “leaned over to me and said, ‘I’ve got it! I’ve got it!’”
“She said, ‘If your theme would be the power of one, think about the number of things you could do with that,’” Neal said. “The power of one thought, the power of one person giving, one team, one community — it can go on and on.
“We started talking about it and I got excited and we went with it from there, so we inundated everything with one and, in my mind, it worked so well that we’ve just kept it going.”
‘That’s Bull!’
Neal and his staff can be heard saying the above phrase more than once during practices. They choose to say it over the alternate, four-letter version other
coaches may say in an effort to get a player’s attention.
“I don’t see any reason to dog cuss a kid,” Neal said. “That’s not what we do. We don’t make our kids feel bad. Don’t get me wrong, we will challenge these kids and we’re going to coach them hard, but there is a way of doing that.
“And you don’t have to dog cuss ’em.”
Neal said it’s become “habit” to coach without cussing and admits he made mistakes “as a young coach” he now regrets. It’s worked as he’s only had to seriously discipline only one player in the past three seasons and that was because “the knucklehead popped off in class for about the 15th time.”
Instead of cussing them, Neal and his coaches often tell their players they love them.
“You’re going to get a whole lot more out of a kid when they love you rather than fear you,” Neal said. “All coaches have their different ways of coaching … but I don’t want kids, when you get done playing, I don’t want your memory of me that all I did was drop the ‘F’ bomb.
“Somehow, someway I hope I impacted you without by being above the line and by being a good example to our kids.”
Rhine o’ the times
Everyone said a player to keep an eye on this fall is Carson Rhine, who’ll be one of the few players expected to play on both sides of the ball.
Rhine’s a playmaker at safety, but Alexander is planning to use his power and speed at running back this season to help replace the production lost with the graduation of Drew Winn.
“(Rhine) may be one of the best defensive players in the state, but I’m going to steal him from coach Neal for offense as much as I can,” Alexander said. “Carson is a special player. We’ll find ways to get him the football because he can make some things happen.”
Look ahead
The Blackhawks open the season by traveling to Harrison to take on the Golden Goblins at 7 p.m. Friday.
Harrison finished 8-4 last season and is expected to be among the top teams in the 5A-West again this season.
They’ll then head to Maumelle on Aug. 31 before wrapping up nonconference play by hosting Farmington in the home opener on Sept. 14.
Key matchups in 4A-1 Conference play will be at Gravette (Oct. 5), at Prairie Grove (Oct. 12) and Shiloh Christian (Nov. 12) at home.