A celler-dweller team produced its best season in 24 years

- feature article P” example, the year before Dicus took over the challenge of coaching a high school football that's what's exactly what happened.” football program at Mission High School in Mission, Texas, the team had finished the seaplayoff berths in 24 years? Jeff Dicus, that’s Dicus says his first order of business as son with a 4-6 record. After a year with Dicus who. Three years ago Dicus accepted the job head coach was to establish a new level of as head football coach at Lake Travis High discipline within the Cavaliers’ program.

“I School in Austin, Texas, and life has never wanted to change attitudes and work habits The key to success with young athletes, Dicus Before | got here the kids didn’t have much is convinced, is pride. “I think that was missstructure going for them in off-season and ing at Lake Travis before | took over. The kids “T saw the Lake Travis High School football in-season programs. I brought in a 12-month didn’t seem to connect with who they were program as a great opportunity,” says Dicus. program, and everybody really jumped on it.” and who they were representing.”

Dicus took “Friends told me that this was not the type of Dicus says one reason he was able to sell his a look around the school and figured that in job that anyone would want; but after lookideas so easily was that he was able to provide their case, the cure for lack of pride would ing into it, 1 became convinced the team had examples of his success in turning around involve a lot of elbow grease. By the second other high school football programs that week on the job Dicus had recruited 45 parhadn't seen much glory on Friday nights. For ents to help him paint the field house.

plenty of hard work, as well as support from Not only did he give the field house a new ity over quantity in training young athletes.

If we're doing sets of ten, on the last set we try look, he ordered new uniforms, new shoes, a new record board, and chairs for the varsity and conditioning at every school I've coached and if we're doing threes, we go for four. In kids in the locker room. “We changed the at, and I see many coaches trying to do too everything we do we try to get a little bit more, whole atmosphere, and we started treating much and not sticking to the fundamentals. and that mentality also has carried over to the our kids like champions — it changed their For example, | don’t believe kids should be football field.”

way of thinking, and I know it contributed to in the weightroom over an hour and 15 minthe success we started to have.” utes. If a kid is in the weightroom longer than that, we're working out too long.” Dicus uses the BFS program at his coaching career.

At first glance, the Cavaliers’ first season with Dicus might not seem like much of an One of the weightroom fundamentals Dicus stresses is breaking records. “We try to instill look at the numbers shows two crucial games mistake coaches make when implementing a in our athletes that when they come in to were lost by only a total of six points — games work out, they are working to break records. that, had they won, would have gotten the dless of how this se:

In 2004, led by junior quarterbac! he has five legitimate Division | players, Reesing, the team finished 8-3 and won the we teach in the weightroom has definitely district championship for the first time in Joshua Joseph, who. school history! Many postfollowed Class 44 PI solute game. of kids I’ve ever been around.” the be:

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From BFS Magazine — November/December 2005. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).