Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008

One small step for the Skyhawks

Hammond coach Kimrey adopts Neil Armstrong philosophy to win SCISA Class 3A

Erik Kimrey is taking the Neil Armstrong approach to football at Hammond this season: One small step toward perfection in practice is a giant step toward winning out in SCISA Class 3A.

“If you can have a narrow focus, that leads to broad success,” said Kimrey, whose Skyhawks are going for their third consecutive title in his fifth year as their head coach.

The Skyhawks’ aim is not only broad, but bold.

“We want to win forever,” Kimrey said. “But to do that, we have to focus on the here and now. We try to maximize the here and now.”

Right now, the Skyhawks are concentrating on making the most of their experienced offense.

Running back Brad Meredith, quarterback Cliff Ayers and experienced recievers Kyle George and Robert Simmons will provide consistency early in the season.

“We will be younger on defense, but we have Will Patterson, whose a defensive end, leading that unit,” Kimrey said. “He is a very versatile player; he’s the kind of guy we can center our defense around.”

Hammond lost a lot from its defensive backfield from last season, namely safety Steven Harvin and linebacker Stone Pinckney. That was a very productive group, and Kimrey said it should not be long before this year’s defense becomes just as effective.

It is the reverse of last year’s situation, in which the defense held up the Skyhawks while a young offense matured on the way to a 12-1 title season.

Kimrey expects the Skyhawks’ intense focus to help them match that result. At the same time, he hopes his squad can keep its laid-back attitude.

For a team with 21 seniors, focus and fun are not mutually exclusive, Kimrey said. Hammond can yuck it up in the huddle and but refocus quickly enough to execute the next play flawlessly.

“The looser they are the better they play, and our kids can flip the switch,” he said.

Reach Nelson at (803) 771-8419.