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AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Small Schools, Big Time Programs

by: David Srinivasan
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For years, Smith Center, Kansas’ (population 1,700) claim to fame was that it’s located in the geographic center of the United States. Now, high school football has put the town on the map.


The Smith Center Redmen gained national attention in 2007 when, in the middle of an eventual 79-game winning streak, they had an 11-game run where they outscored their opponents a combined 706-0. In one memorable game, they scored 72 points – in the first quarter.


While they eventually lost in last season’s Kansas 2-1A state championship, their spectacular run became the subject of a bestselling book, Our Boys, by New York Times writer Joe Drape. The book puts great emphasis on the coaching principles of Head Coach Roger Barta.


Barta might just be the dean of small school coaches. Last season, he won his 300th career game and has brought eight state titles to the little town in the heartland. All this in a school that has a total of 226 students in grades 7-12, an average of 46 in each graduating class.


“We live in a community that really likes football and is very supportive,” Barta said. “We have great parents, and our kids like to play the game, so they’re willing to work and try to improve. Consequently, we have been blessed with some great athletes, and we’ve won a few games.” To say that the kids like to play football is an understatement. Roughly three out of every four boys in the Smith Center system participate on Barta’s teams. Rule number one in a small school – strive for full participation.


But making the team is only the first step, according to Barta. “I think the football field is the greatest classroom ever made,” he said. Barta is the epitome of football-coach-as-mentor. “You can talk about things, important things as you prepare for a football game. We always ask our kids to be better students, better citizens, better football players. We ask them to be a little better each day. We’re always trying to develop leadership in every one of them. Some are natural leaders, and some have to learn that. We ask them to respect everybody and treat people with respect and be honest and disciplined.”
Having a staff that shares his values and is as dedicated to the community as he is matters greatly. Many of Barta’s staff played for him. “I have a great coaching staff,” Barta said. “Most of them played here, left for college, worked someplace else, and then came back. They really bleed red, which is our color. They’re invested in the community. They’re all great role models, and they all care about kids.”


Like many schools, a key to Smith Center’s consistency is uniform coaching from grade school on up. “We do the same things from junior high right up through high school,” said Barta. “Our junior high coaches do a great job and our practice fields are side-by-side. They do the same things, the same drills, the same everything. When players do the same thing for six years, they get very proficient at it.”


On the field, Barta has perfected a simplified, run-oriented offensive approach that works well with the talent pool he knows he’ll have every year. “Offensively, we’re a double tight-end wishbone-set backfield,” he said. “We run inside belly and outside belly probably 90% of the time.”


Every now and then, he mixes it up. “We do have other things that we do just for fun. We spread it around – once in a while,” said Barta. But don’t look for the Redmen to start playing out of the spread or another offense du jour. “Basically, we run the football and we believe in execution - blocking and tackling.” The basics apply to defense as well. “Defensively, we play a 4-3, just like most people do, and we stunt quite a bit out of it.”


Declining enrollment is an issue that looms for Smith Center. “As we look into grade school, our enrollment is going to drop quite a bit,” said Barta. It’s a common theme in many small rural towns that are losing population because of demographic shifts and declining job bases. “There are several teams in our league that are dropping to eight-man because they can’t field enough kids.”


In Smith Center, according to Barta, the town’s kids are the priority. “Probably the number-one product of our community is young people, and we work together to raise kids,” he said. “Unfortunately, they leave and don’t come back since there’s often nothing for them to come back to. Our population is dwindling. All over western Kansas it’s getting smaller and smaller.”


Barta is optimistic but also realistic. “We’re fortunate. We get most of the boys that we should get out. We’re going to be right at 60 players next year. When I first came here, we had 80. We’ve been less than 40 a couple of years in there, but we’re staying pretty consistent. Eventually, we’re going to have less and less kids to pick from.”


Will Roger Barta’s Redmen embark on another six or seven-year winning streak starting with their first game this fall? It’s improbable. But the residents of Smith Center can be assured that his teams will always represent their values of hard work, dedication and respect.

For many who grew up in the 1960’s, the fictional town of Mayberry, from the old Andy Griffith Show, was the quintessential American small town.


Kelly Holder found the real Mayberry when he became head coach at Mount Airy High School in North Carolina in 1999. Mount Airy is almost a carbon copy of Mayberry. Actually it’s the other way around, since Mount Airy is Griffith’s home town and the unofficial inspiration for the television series.


Holder relishes coaching football in a small town. “I don’t think that there’s anything better than small-town football. There’s a lot of attention, and a lot of pride,” he said.


But it’s Holder and the Mount Airy Bears team that has given the town reason to be proud. In his 11 seasons at the helm, the Bears have compiled a stellar 111-38 record and have been to the North Carolina playoffs every year. In the last three years, they’ve posted a record of 44-2. In 2008, they took home the state 1A Championship, finishing 16-0 and outscoring their opponents by a whopping 845-94.


In that championship season, the Bears rushed for nearly 5,400 yards. But their offense was more balanced than that number might indicate. They added over 1,400 yards and 12 TDs through the air.


Like Smith Center’s Roger Barta, Holder has developed a consistent, somewhat simplistic offense that can be tweaked year-to-year but remains essentially unchanged. “We have always been a multiple-I team, with some gun mixed in,” said Holder. “We dictate what plays we run by the talent of our players in key positions, usually the QB. But it’s traditionally the same offense year-in, year-out.”


Also reminiscent of Smith Center, Mount Airy’s coaching staff are deeply invested in the program and have exhibited loyalty over the long term. “Our coaches work extremely hard and they are loyal to this program,” said Holder. “I think that this is a big reason we are successful. In the last ten years we have lost very few coaches. I think it’s because of the success and treatment that they receive here.”


Instead of resenting the pressure that typically builds in a small community with high expectations for their football team, Holder embraces it. “If you’re at a place where the community cares about football, you’re going to have a great opportunity to succeed,” he said. “If not, then you’re going to wish you were somewhere else.”


Having the support of the administration as well as the community is one of Holder’s keys to success. “Here at Mount Airy, they care,” said Holder. “I coached the principal’s son and the athletics director is our offensive line coach. That helps.”
As you might expect in a town with such a strong winning football tradition, the desire to be part of Mount Airy football starts early and is a key to continuing the tradition. According to Holder, “I think the biggest priority is to instill a pride for winning at all levels and all ages”.


Apparently, he is succeeding. “I had a little league player come up to me and ask me if I was still going to be coaching when he and my ten-year-old son got to the high school,” said Holder. “I told him I hoped so, and he said, ‘Good. You’re going to enjoy it. ’Cause we’re going to win it all!’” With support like that, look for Mount Airy’s winning tradition to continue. p

Note: Next month, AFM will feature small school profiles with Head Coach Gary Rankin of Alcoa, Tennessee and Head Coach Curt Bladt of Harlan Community High School in Harlan, Iowa.






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