A steep learning curve. It’s an oft-used phrase at times that loses its meaning due to the frequency with which it’s used. The football players at Central High School, however, know the meaning of this particular cliché all too well. They found themselves on a steeper curve than they could ever have imagined in 2014, and they answered the challenge better than anyone could have expected.
Head coach Jamey DuBose came to Central from Charles Henderson High School late in the year – in June, to be exact. He spent 2012 and 2013 at Florence High School. He left Florence to take the head coaching job at Charles Henderson, but resigned as Trojans’ head coach when the Central job unexpectedly came open late in the year. He never coached a game at Charles Henderson.
Prior to the first game of the 2014 season, he only had seven padded practices with the Red Devils. “The kids did an outstanding job. They accepted change and my process. It was a steep curve and a fast-paced change. We’ve been able to slow some things down this year, and I feel good about where we’re going,” says DuBose.
Despite the challenges the team faced last year, Central went 10-2 and won Region 2-7A with a 6-0 record. The Red Devils advanced to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs, losing to the Prattville Lions 26-7 (where DuBose won two state titles as head coach in 2008 and 2011) after defeating the Lions 42-34 during the regular season. It may have been more than everyone expected, but DuBose and his staff want their team to achieve more.
DuBose graduated from Opp High School, where he played football and baseball. He went to Huntington College to play baseball before transferring to Troy, where he graduated with a degree in education in 1994. Coaching was something that DuBose always wanted to do, and he had a very specific path he wanted his career to follow.
“I decided in high school that I wanted to be a coach. It was very important to me to be a head coach at a large school in Alabama and win a state championship. Now, I want to win a title at another school. I want to show that our system works,” he says.
DuBose has been coaching for 22 years, nine of which have been spent as head coach. During the course of his career, he’s played for state titles three times as an assistant and three times as a head coach. He has four total state titles – two while an assistant and two as head coach. All of his state championships came at Prattville.
His system obviously works, and it’s one that blends a family atmosphere with a fast-paced, high-intensity approach to the game. DuBose and his staff work hard to give their teams a family feel. They encourage the kids and let them know they have faith in them to get the job done. At the same time, they correct the kids and make sure they know what is expected of them. DuBose also believes success can be found in numbers and high-energy, fast-paced practices.
“There’s a lot of energy around us. We’re a family, but we’re also intense,” he says.
DuBose runs a spread offense and believes that an unrelenting, physical defense is the key to winning a title. He has nine kids returning on defense this year, seven of which have Division I offers.
“Defense wins championships,” he says bluntly.
Over the course of his career, he’s seen tremendous changes in the way athletes prepare for the game and the way the game itself is played. He says players are bigger, faster, and stronger than they used to be. It seems as though each year, kids get bigger and bigger. As they’ve gotten better, the speed of the game has picked up.
“Bodies have changed and football has gotten faster,” he says. To keep up, coaches have gotten more educated in all aspects of the game, from weight training and injury prevention to good old fashioned X’s and O’s. “We do more; faster than we used to. Early in my career, we’d do three-a-days for three hours at each practice. We were out there all day long. We can’t do that anymore. What we’re doing with spread offenses, nutrition, and everything else – football has changed,” he says.
One of the biggest changes that has taken some getting used to (but is ultimately for the better) is the role technology is playing in high school football. As coaches reviewed game film on Saturday mornings in years gone by, they would often say things like, “If only we had seen that last night in the third quarter, we could have fixed it.”
Now, thanks to technology, they can. Coaches have access to sideline replay and can make significant adjustments during games. In some ways, it’s almost like playing a video game in real time with real people – reading what’s happening on a screen and placing bodies in the right places at the right time. “We can break down games during games. It’s amazing,” he says.
So what does all this mean for the Central High Red Devils? It means they’re going to be good, and the improvement will come sooner rather than later. DuBose comes from a coaching tree that includes some of the best high school football coaches, not only in Alabama, but in the United States. He has a proven record of success with a championship resume. Central High School has the resources, the infrastructure, and the desire to win that, coupled with DuBose’s commitment to his craft, will make the Red Devils a state title contender very soon.
“We’re in our second year here now. Last year, we had to rush to get everything in place. We can slow down a little this year. I feel like the program is headed in the right direction,” states Coach DuBose.
For nine of his 22 years in coaching, Jamey DuBose coached baseball along with football. He played baseball in college; as such, knew the game well. Once he moved up the coaching ladder and landed an offensive coordinator’s position, he gave up baseball. Besides, his goal was always to win a state football championship. After four total titles, that’s still his goal. He refuses to look back at past success, instead choosing to focus on what lies ahead. “You can’t look over your shoulder. Once a season is over, you put it behind you and move forward,” he says. And he’s really looking forward to what 2015 holds for the Central High Red Devils.
Coach’s Corner/Columbus Valley/August 2015
Jamey DuBose
Central High School
Phenix City, Alabama
Robert Preston Jr.
