Jets take flight, James Clemens plays spring game Friday
Madison- There is a new football team in town. And they mean business.
James Clemens High School won’t officially open until August but they already have a football team. Head Coach Bill Stewart had been putting about 80 players through rigorous spring practices for the last two weeks. First, the practices were at Liberty Middle School. Then when Liberty started spring practice, Stewart moved the practices to Heritage Elementary School.
The players don’t have a field house and have to dress in the gym or on the bus but that hasn’t slowed the players from coming for the opportunity to play football. Buses bring players from Bob Jones, Discovery, and Liberty Middle together to form the team.
“These kids are excited about being out here,” Stewart said. “It’s a great time. The first day we came from three buses and actually started on time, it was amazing. The kids are having a good time and making it a lot of fun for us coaches.”
Stewart knows he has a big task ahead of him because for many of the players it is their first exposure to coaching at this level. Stewart, a high-energy coach who achieved success at Etowah High School in Cherokee County, Georgia has brought in a new offensive coordinator, Clint Woodfin.
Woodfin was the offensive coordinator at Lassiter High School (Ga.) and most recently Alpharetta High School in Georgia, where he taught the no-huddle, spread attack that is prevalent today. He coached under Chip Lindsey who is now the head coach at Spain Park after a stop at Troy University. Woodfin however is no stranger to this area. He is from Decatur, Alabama where he played football at Austin High School.
“Clint has coached with some great coordinators and he wanted to get back to this area so I was lucky to get him,” Stewart said. “Me and Clint got to know each other when we where on the staff together at Parkview High School in Georgia and won a state championship there,” Stewart added.
While Woodfin oversees the offense, Stewart, a former linebacker at the University of Central Florida will coach the defense.
Two weeks of spring practices culminates with a game Friday night at Madison City Schools Stadium against Ramsey, a high school out of the Birmingham area.
“We have been practicing for two weeks and we get a little break and get to have a game day. I’m glad we went ahead and scheduled a game. These kids have worked hard and are excited about getting out and playing,” Stewart said.
The team is mostly upcoming freshman and sophomores with a few juniors and a couple of seniors sprinkled in. Stewart said that he expects more transfers to arrive in time for fall practice in August, including some from out-of-state.
“All these guys get a chance to get on the field and play. That is what this is, an opportunity to start something new and for some of them a chance to get on the field and be part of something,” Stewart said.
“They know how difficult it is going to be but they also know it is going to be a great journey,” Stewart added.
One of the players who will get a chance right away is Liberty Middle School eighth-grader Heath Birchfield who will play quarterback. The left-hander was on the field early at practice on Tuesday with his receivers running routes and getting his timing down under the tutelage of Offensive Coordinator Woodfin who is also the quarterbacks coach.
The players will go through physicals on Wednesday and draw their game day jerseys and equipment on Thursday.
