New coach Belew meets players and community
Eric Belew was officially hired as the new head football coach at Armuchee High in December, but he finally got the chance to meet his players and members of the community Thursday night.
A meet and greet was held at the school’s auditorium as Belew was introduced by Armuchee High principal Joseph Pethel, who told those in attendance about the process of hiring the new coach and why he was ultimately the choice to lead the Indians going forward.
Belew, who most recently served as an assistant at Rockmart High, then spoke to the crowd about himself, his excitement for the new opportunity at Armuchee and what he expects for the program.
Prior to the meet and greet, Belew also got a chance to meet and talk with his players for the first time since the hiring was announced to introduce himself and go over what he expects from them and what they should expect from him as their head coach.
The Rome News-Tribune caught up with Belew after Thursday’s meet and greet to discuss several subjects, including what it was like to finally get to meet with the Armuchee faithful, his expectations for the short term and long term for the program and more.
RN-T: How exciting was it to finally meet with the players, parents and community, and what were the biggest things you were looking to get out of that experience?
BELEW: Getting to actually put eyes on the players was great. I was so eager to meet with them. With the process officially starting right before Christmas, it has felt like forever, so it was great being able to meet the players and the folks in them community. The big goal Thursday night was to start the process of investing in the community. Armuchee is full of special people, and they have been so welcoming and helpful to an outsider like myself. Everyone has been so helpful and so supportive. I have no doubt that our community will be a contributing factor to our successes on Friday nights.
When you met with the players first, what was your message to them