May 25 – The Ada High School football team wrapped up spring practice with a spirited practice session Wednesday afternoon inside the Craig McBroom Football Complex.
This ended a series of eight spring practices under the supervision of new head coach Wade Boyles and his revamped coaching staff.
“Our coaching staff did a fantastic job this spring bringing energy and teaching new terminology and just doing the things they needed to do to help us move forward as we move toward football season,” Boyles told The Ada News. “We have a lot of new guys here who are setting up and teaching terminology and all of these guys did a great job.”
Former Ada High School standout Chad Roark returns home as the new defensive coordinator and former East Central University assistant coach Joe Foster will assume the team’s offensive coordinator duties.
“They came in hungry and excited about Ada Cougar football. These two guys are going to be fantastic for our school and our football program,” Boyles said.
The rest of the AHS football coaching staff includes Justin Nail, another former Cougar, who will oversee the offensive and defensive line; Robbie Powell, the Ada High School boys golf coach who returns to the football coaching staff to help with the offensive line; Blake Hollenbeck, assistant track and field coach who will now coach wide receivers and defensive lineman for the Cougar football team; and Lane Martin, who graduated from Stratford High School and will coach linebackers and running backs.
Boyles said despite the high turnover on the coaching staff, Ada players entered spring practice ready to get to work.
“Our kids arrived excited. There was a lot of change and turmoil for them, but they still arrived excited and hungry to learn,” he said.
The numbers were great during the spring. The Cougars’ highest mark was 61 players.
“Our numbers are increasing now. We’ve held steady with about 55 kids. We had 61 at one point,” Boyles said. “We’ve got a lot of new faces. We’ve had kids coming over from other (athletic) programs who hadn’t played in recent years. We’ve got some changes.”
Boyles said one of the biggest things that happened for the Cougars during the eight days of practice was the team’s unity.
“I think the biggest accomplishment this spring is getting our team chemistry where our guys trust and believe in each other. Everyone is heading in the same direction,” Boyles said. “When a team is led by players, you tend to have more success than when it’s led by a coach.”
Boyles said his superiors have demonstrated good leadership so far.
“Our older kids — kids like Kale Fuller and Deante Lindsay — stepped up in their leadership role and took charge. They did a fantastic job. Our seniors are going to be guys we rely on heavily for leadership.” he said.
Summer Pride practices are next for the Ada High football team and are scheduled for June 10-27. High school players will meet from 6:45 to 8:45 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 8 to 9 on Wednesdays.
After the Oklahoma High School Activities Association’s mandatory downtime of June 29-July 7 ends, Summer Pride will resume July 8-25. Two Summer Pride practices are also scheduled for Aug. 5-6 from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
When meeting with the team after last spring practice, Boyles and most of his coaching staff emphasized how important it is to attend summer sessions.
“The important thing is that our kids come out during the summer. We want to make sure they hold each other accountable for being here. I hope they’re here if they’re in town,” Boyles said. “There’s no reason for them not to be here if they’re in town. If you need a ride, we’ll pick you up. to church camp, go to sports camps and be a kid, but at the same time, if you’re in town, I want you here working out and being a part of what we have going on.
