Losing offensive players from 2015 who were rainmakers for the Shaw Raiders is going to be a big hurdle for the 2016 football team. Those key players were responsible for 4,692 yards of offense and 47 touchdowns. Some coaches might be willing just to call it a rebuilding year and accept the cards they have been dealt. But Shaw High School’s head football coach Charles Stamey isn’t like a lot of coaches.
Stamey didn’t start off as an educator or coach. He worked in corporate America for 14 years before choosing to go into the field of education by way of earning his teaching certification in Social Studies. Stamey is in only his second year of overseeing the Raiders’ football program but he has a lot of personal experience with the sport.
A graduate of Hardaway High School, Stamey played football there under Coach John Drew. He attended Valdosta State University on an athletic scholarship and was a four year starter on the offensive line. During that time Stamey’s football career was directed by VSU Coach Hal Mumme and a few other coaches who have since coached successful Division I football teams.
In 2010 Stamey was a Community Coach at Shaw High School under then-coach Jamie Fox while he pursued his teaching certification. He worked his way up to Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Coach with Shaw coach Kyle Adkins. The head coaching job came open again in 2014 with Adkins’ departure.
All of this is to say that Stamey has had an up close and personal look at good football programs as well as spent years working in a business environment that required solutions to challenges. Combined, these skills enable him to see what works, what is needed and how to get the job done.
The Raiders’ record last year was 5-6 (3-3 region). For the 2016 season, Stamey knows an older, more experienced team would be best but he only has seven senior starters returning. The Raiders main strength will be on defense. Ten of this season’s defensive starters either started last year or received significant playing time.
His program includes 78 players which mean enthusiasm is building for Shaw football. The young players will face a hard schedule but Stamey isn’t willing to let the lack of experience be seen just as a negative or a reason to put forth little effort.
“We have talent, but it is young talent. Now that doesn’t matter when the season kicks off, we still have to go out and compete for the Region. We will make young player mistakes, but we will also do some great things. This is where coaches earn their pay. It is easy to just put new paint or new windows on an already built house. It is hard work to build that house with only the foundation in place,” says Stamey.
The Raiders’ foundation for 2016 includes nine returning starters. Seven players, Nick Beason, Tyrone Davis, Devan Porter-Wilson, Zack Taylor, Miquail Harvey, Datavious Burton and Jamieson Lawrence, are considered college prospects.
Stamey’s coaching philosophy for offense is to get the ball into the hands of the players that can make things happen. For defense, it’s just as simple, be aggressive and physical. According to the coach, “it is amazing how good a defense is when they are in the middle of an offense’s backfield.”
Last year was a learning curve for the new coach. He found much about the game is the same as when he played and yet some aspects have changed. Like any good coach, Stamey works at motivating his players but has discovered the process is a little more complicated these days.
“I wish I had the magic formula to do that all the time. Players are different today than when I played. My coaches made me want to play better out of pure hate; I wanted to prove them wrong. I wanted to prove that all the things that they said to me in practice were wrong. Today, you have to find a balance, you have to find what motivates each individual player. The number one thing I try to do is to build a relationship with our players,” he says.
In working with his young athletes, Stamey hopes to see improvement in the team’s character. His three main goals consist of being a person of high character, competing for a region title, and making the playoffs and advancing past the first round.
The bottom line for Stamey is that this season he wants to improve one stat.
The second year coach wants to win more games.
Shaw Raiders
Young Shaw Team Showing Promise For Now And Future
Written by Beth Welch
Photo by George McDuffie
