ITG-SEGA / September 2016
When Wayne County finally found the person that would lead the Yellow Jackets this season, Derek Chastain knew he was less than 75 days out until the start of the season. The Yellow Jackets also lost a number of seniors to graduation. The most glaring holes for Wayne we are at quarterback and on the offensive line. Not to complicate things further, but with many years on at “Wing T central,” otherwise known as Camden County, Chastain understands the importance and power of a run-oriented offense.
“Without a doubt the offensive line and quarterback…We have really only one person on the line with significant game experience,” Chastain said. “We are getting better every day at practice, but it is still a huge adjustment. We are asking the inexperienced offensive line to do things they have never done before, so that will cause some headaches at times. However, we are shuffling personnel to try to find the right fit for our scheme. Our defense and special teams will have to play extremely well while we get progressively better on the offensive side of the football.”
As the Yellow Jackets are learning a new offensive scheme and the ways of a new head coach, Chastain is working to learn his personnel and trying to get players to embrace the vision that he has for the Wayne County program.
“I believe they are all trying to buy in and ignore the noise of the naysayers and have a very good football season,” Chastain said. “No one is really giving us a shot because of the late coaching change. However, our seniors who stuck around without knowing who their coach was going to be have really practiced hard and led this team throughout camp. I would be wrong if I mentioned just one or two of them because they all have made a significant impact since before I came this summer.”
One change that Chastain did not have to make was to the base defense that Wayne County veteran defensive coordinator Roger Creager has greatly attributed to the rise of Yellow Jackets over the past few seasons.
“Coach Creager has always done a good job on defense while being at Wayne,” Chastain said. “So, with that said, I did not tweak anything on that side of the ball. I voiced my opinions and concerns at times, and we worked them out. However, I wanted something to stay pretty much the same for our kids. I don’t think it would have been wise to come in and change every phase of our football program in June.”
The learning curve for a head coach is about so much more than the Xs and Os and getting the players into the right positions; the head football coach also has to put together the travel plan for away games. Wayne’s first two contests are on the road. The Yellow Jackets traveled to Thomas County Central for a scrimmage and will open the 2016 season at West Laurens High School.
“I learned to plan my travel itinerary better,” Chastain said. “We were rushed on a long trip and played like it. This was my fault. Our kids showed a lot of relentlessness that night because after getting punched in the mouth early, they stood their ground and didn’t quit. They played hard and forced four turnovers with one spectacular play down by the goal line. Our cornerback was beat on a play but chased the receiver down and stripped the ball on the two-yard line before he goes in to score. This was an incredible play by one of our senior DB’s that have led us in camp this summer.”
Coming out of the Thomas County Central game, Chastain saw a lot of things that could be corrected with false starts and offside penalties. He is also trying to get the right players in the right spots so they can be successful.
“Our goal each week is to go 1-0,” Chastain said. “We don’t want to look at anything else but ourselves and the next opponent.”
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