We spoke with new Jasper County head football coach Ashley Henderson about taking over the program and his goals for the season.
Q: Coach, congratulations on your new coaching position at Jasper County. Can you tell us more about the Hurricanes?
A: Thanks, man. We’re fired up. The kids are great. They work hard. We have some good players. The community is very hungry for success and has been very welcoming. We haven’t had a winning season in a while, and that was part of the draw for me. I loved the idea of the challenge to help put us on the map and build it from the ground up. We have great facilities. We have a lot of pieces of the puzzle. We just need to learn how to do things the right way.
All this sounds cliché, but football is a commitment. Games are won in the weight room and on the practice field. Rec ball is over, and we will be playing big-boy ball here. We are trying to make everything we do a competition, compete in everything we do. We want to build a culture of competition and toughness. It will be a process, but we are working to build something all of Monticello and Jasper County can be proud of.
Q: I know a couple of things to take care of as a new coach are selecting a staff and putting together a schedule. Can you tell us how those things have gone so far?
A: Thankfully, [Athletic Director Eddie] Roberts had a schedule in place before I got here. When you haven’t had much success, it is usually a little easier to put one together. As far as staffing, we have two top-notch coordinators on staff with coach Chris Bragg, who came by way of Tift County, and coach JR Ragan. Both have been big for us getting everything going so far and have been great to work with so far.
Q: I’m always curious how, as a new coach coming into a program, you decide on each position, especially if you are bringing in a completely new staff. What is your process at Jasper County?
A: You always have a handful of guys in mind you want to bring with you – coordinators, offensive line, and secondary are huge hires. I like to meet the current staff first. From there, I’m all about fit. I was looking for guys with experience and a mix with some young, hungry coaches. Middle school head coach is always a big hire too because your feeder team can make or break you, and we are blessed with a good coach here with a lot of experience in Chad Estes.
Q: Coach Henderson, what are your goals for your new team in year one? Do you set new goals as the season goes on?
A: As a competitor, you compete to win every game. Why have a scoreboard if you aren’t? Schools pay a lot of money on those scoreboards! Our situation is not different. We want to build this program. There will be some lessons in this growth, but we are up for the challenge.
We just moved into a new region. If we can win a couple region games, we can host a playoff game for the first time at our new field. We need to continue to create a buzz on how we do things and how they’ll be done from here on out, first class. We want a program kids can’t do without and take great pride in.
