New defensive coordinator, head coach make mark at Lakeside
Lakeside started a new era of football in February when the school announced Garren Rockwell as its new head football coach.
Flash forward to summer, and preparations for the fall season have been well underway for Rockwell and his players.
The past few months included plenty of adjustments for Rockwell both on and off the football field.
“I was a nobody I guess you could say,” Rockwell said. “Now my phone just won’t stop. Everybody’s calling, texting, emailing. Before then I was nobody. Guess I’m a little bit of somebody now of some importance. Other than that, just trying to keep my head above water. Just trying to be organized as much as possible. Learning on the fly of being in the head coach chair.”
Rockwell was the defensive coordinator for the Rams from 2016 until he was named head coach. Since he became head coach, he has dealt with the challenge of looking after the whole team and not just the defense.
“As a coordinator you really worry about the defense, and I still do,” Rockwell laughed. “I have to break myself away from defense and go over there and talk to those offensive guys and see what they’re doing. Trying to learn the schemes and new stuff we’re trying to put in. Things of that nature.”
With Rockwell out of the defensive coordinator position, Lakeside hired Sylvan Hills’ Jacob Reynolds to fill the vacancy.
Lakeside based its defense in a 3-3 for the past 12 years, and Reynolds will bring fresh ideas to the defensive side of the ball for the Rams.
“It’s just good to get a new voice, new philosophy on that side of the ball,” Rockwell said. “Taking his knowledge of being successful at all the places he’s been and then combining my knowledge along with coach (Lewis) Jolly’s knowledge of how we do things at Lakeside. Him coming just is another great source of defensive information to keep adding on to what we do.”
The Rams’ offseason in the spring went until Memorial Day weekend, and now the team is practicing Monday through Thursday from 7-9 a.m.
The team lifts weights, conditions and focuses on 7-on-7 while also examining 11-man football schemes.
“Especially defensively, because everything’s pretty new on that side of the ball,” Rockwell said. “We’re still learning and trying to put things together. Offensively, they’re kind of staying with their base and core of what we normally do. But they’re adding new stuff on. Being organized and our time management skills as coaches and players has been very, very important.”
The Arkansas Activities Association athletic dead period starts June 25 and ends July 9. When Lakeside returns to the field in July, the Rams have another 7-on-7 tournament in Malvern and another team camp.
“We’ve got good energy right now,” Rockwell said. “The energy is good. They’re motivated. We’ve just got to get some wins. So we’ll see if that happens in the fall. The energy, our attendance as far as coming to summer workouts at the high school and the junior high, have been really good. We’ve just got to put a good product on the field and get some wins.”