ITG Next spoke with Peachtree Ridge football coach Matt Helmrich about spring practice, summer training, and how he plans to get the Lions back to their winning ways.
Q: Congratulations on being named the new head football coach at Peachtree Ridge. Can you tell us about your previous coaching history?
A: Thank you. I’ve been fortunate to have been at some great places with some great people. I was the head coach at Johns Creek High School for the past five years. From eight graduating seniors and a 3-7 record in year one to a quarterfinals appearance and two region championships by year five, I believe we got the program headed in the right direction.
We were in the top 10 in 6A three out of our five years, and what our staff was most proud of was sending 46 players on to play college football. Last year, 15 of our 29 seniors signed to play college football. That was the most rewarding thing for us.
Before that, I was in Florida at a few different places, most notably St. Thomas Aquinas, where we were fortunate to win 10 state championships in football and track, and I was able to work with some special players and people as well.
Q: How was spring practice, and what are your offseason summer plans for the team?
A: It was really good. We discovered we’re pretty good in certain areas and not very good in other areas. Whether you’re a new staff or a returning one, the challenge in Georgia spring football is always trying to get ready for a game while installing schemes and teaching fundamentals – all in only nine practices. But I think we maximized our days on the field.
Summer plans? Get better at everything. We must get stronger as we got pushed around a bit by Mountain View in the spring game. Other than that, installing basic schemes and working fundamentals will be vital.
Our roster numbers are going up, and that’s exciting. And I’d put our freshman class up against anyone. We have some serious young talent in the program. We have really good kids here in our football program and in our community. We’re truly looking forward to seeing them succeed.
Q: You enjoyed great success there with a new Johns Creek football program, taking them to a deep playoff run last season. You now take over a Peachtree Ridge program that was once a state football power, but has not been able to sustain that level of success over the last decade. What are your plans for turning things around there at Peachtree Ridge?
A: The tradition here at Peachtree Ridge is something our community is very proud of. We’ve got five or six guys in the NFL right now, and this area loves their football.
We’ll strive to do many of the same things we did at JC. I brought a lot of my offensive staff here, and we were in the top five scoring offenses three out of the last five years. We created havoc and turnovers on defense and made plays on special teams as well.
And getting our kids into colleges – I believe our staff connections and success promoting our kids are top notch.
Also, having an administration that truly wants to win is important. We’ve got 14 coaches in the building, and I don’t know many administrations that will commit to that. Our facilities are getting an entire facelift as well. Our new weight room goes in on Monday. Our new turf field and track are currently being put in as well. And we have an indoor turf facility (about 30 yards wide) that we’re blessed to work in.
Combine excellent facilities, a really talented area, an elite coaching staff, and an administration that wants our athletics to match our first-class academics and arts programs, and I’m confident we’ll be successful.
Q: What are some of the challenging matchups you have in 2022?
A: I know it’s probably not the answer you’re looking for – but when you’re coming off multiple losing seasons, all of our matchups are challenging. We will be focusing on getting ready for Archer in the scrimmage and then Seckinger to open the season.
I’m obviously new to the program, but it seems we’ve developed somewhat of a rivalry with Lanier, and we’ll renew our rivalry with Duluth, playing for the Mayor’s Cup.
Norcross and North Gwinnett are also on the schedule, and everyone in the state knows they’ve been two of the better programs in Georgia over the last 15 years. I believe playing 7A football in Gwinnett is the high school football version of playing in the SEC (pains me to say since I’m a Big Ten guy). So I’m looking forward to the challenge of playing against the best programs in the state year-in and year-out.
