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Thank you guys for coming. Uh, you know, we, we um have been uh on, on the, uh, on *** lot of people's minds for *** little while here deciding when we were gonna do this. People want to know what's going on and what are we gonna do? And so, um, we, we take that very seriously and, um, you know, this, this whole thing started in ***, in an unfortunate way. We all know that, um, and the, the first meeting we had after, after the, uh, the incident and, and all that, that, that went through, we had *** team meeting and, um, this guy went in and, and, and talked to the players and the players had *** little bit of, uh trepidation. They were like, you know, but, uh, you could just tell that was unease and then as, as coach English began to speak and what he was saying kinda, um, you could tell that the whole atmosphere of the room changed and, uh, you know, not in that moment, I don't think they all really believed in him in that moment, but it was like they're gonna give him *** chance and it's the same thing that we told him when it happened. We said, hey, man, you got the perfect opportunity here. Nobody gets this. Usually somebody gets ***, *** 45 minute interview and that's it. And so you gotta, you gotta impress in that 45 to, to, to, you know, hour long interview. Well, this guy had an opportunity to interview for the whole season and that's what we told him is like, here's the keys to the Ferrari. Let's see what you can do with it, go drive it and through that, I, I believe he proved that that he was the right candidate for this job. Um, he did come in and, and he interviewed for it. Killed the interview. Um It's kind of funny that, you know, people think that, that he and I are, are, are buddies that we hang out. I, you know, I didn't meet him until he came to Hoover. Um, but it just kind of shows God's Providence and how things work. I got to spend some time with him outside of ad to coach role. I got to hang out with him as his kids were playing ball and his, his son was wrestling. I got to, you know, just sit and talk, just nothing, nothing to do with school, just talk and get to learn about him. And I got to see how much that he loves Jesus, that he loves his family. And there's no doubt in my mind, he's gonna show that he loves this school in this community. He's already proven that this year. And so with that being said, and, and no, no, we're not gonna keep dragging it on. Uh, it is, it is my pleasure to introduce to you the next head football coach at Hoover High school coach, Chip English. That. What? Well, I appreciate it. Um, very thankful and um humbled and honored to, to be in this position and, uh, you know, *** lot of people to think and, and *** lot of people to be appreciative of, um, one, my wife Heather, she's been amazing throughout this whole process if, uh, I can't even count how many times we moved from college, uh, and into this profession. And, um, she's been, she's been my number one supporter the whole way. So I wanna thank her, uh, and my family, my five kids, uh, my youngest is here tonight, but my oldest is down. He has the honor to play in the Alabama Mississippi all Star game tonight. So he, he reported to, to camp down there this morning. Uh, my daughter, the ninth grader Tatum, she's at Clay Chalk Will playing in *** basketball game tonight. Um, and then my other two are at home. Uh, unfortunately, one is sick. So, uh, they hate, they missed it. They wanted to be here there. We, we drag each other around every sporting event, everything. And so they've, they've been everywhere uh supporting me and uh next is, is Doctor Lamey. Uh he said it over this course of this year. Um, you know, we, we had to go through *** lot, uh, and we went through *** lot together and, and it was for the betterment of Hoover high school uh in the football program. And I fully believe in him and uh his support of, of me in this football program and allowing us to build this thing like it's supposed to be built. I can't thank him enough. Uh Miss Hogan has been an incredible supporter being at every game, being at every uh function that we have in full support and uh the continued support moving forward and understanding how we have to build *** staff and, and build connection with the community and she's in full support of that. And obviously, Doctor Maddox um has, has been *** great support over the this year. Um I don't say this lightly. Um The number one people that I think are the players and that's really what it's about when we come, when we come to work every day, we don't interact with *** computer, we don't interact with uh *** football or *** helmet, we don't interact with the weights, we interact with people. And that's really what uh I wanna build this off of. Uh one of my players is here tonight. Uh and he always puts *** smile on my face and uh just excited about continuing this relationship and building that uh the coaching staff this year. Um One person don't do this thing and, and to, to say that one person does, you know, people are just misinformed. It takes *** lot of people not only from *** school side, but also from *** coaching staff. And this coaching staff this year uh has been an incredible support. Uh not only to me but the players, they came to work every day, sometimes in adverse situation, sometimes understaffed, sometimes, uh not in the prime uh position to be successful. Uh And ultimately, the coaching staff myself, the players, we found *** way to win uh in the toughest region in the state and that's region three and seven ***. So, uh I can't say enough about them about the players, about the parents, about the boosters to come out and support like they did. And ultimately, we had ***, an incredibly successful season. Um not, uh not to say we didn't want to, uh, do it, uh, go all the way to the state championship, but nonetheless, uh, that doesn't take away from winning *** region championship. It doesn't take it away, uh, from going deep in the playoffs. I just spoke this morning with, um, an incredibly successful coach who actually just won *** state championship, um *** week ago and he's, he congratulated me and, and said, uh people don't realize how hard it is doing what we do and, and and taking our teams as far as we did. Um, and so, uh, I know the coaches realize that, but, uh, it just goes *** long way to say how much, how hard the players work, how hard the coaches work to get us where, uh, we got to this year and, and I'm incredibly excited about the opportunity to, to build this thing up and ramp it up about three notches and, and take us even further, uh, to win state championships. Um I get to call, uh Hoover high school home. I get to call it my place of work and, and it is the best high school in the state, uh, and arguably in the country. Uh, the Hoover City school system, uh has been, uh just great to my family and I get to witness the type of service and place that it is not only to my kids personally but my players. All right, my colleagues, my coworkers, um, it is the best place in Alabama. Um, needless to say the success that we have on the football field with 23 region championships, 13 state championships, the most playoff wins in the state of Alabama from any other high school. Um, we have the best academics. We have the best athletes, we have the best band, we have the best, uh, fine arts facilities. We have the best people. And I end with that by saying, we get to go to work and, and be with people and be with the student athletes, right? That make us the best in the state and we wanna continue that, um, the standard is excellence and, and all we do. And I truly believe that you look at our basketball program, you look at our soccer program, you look at our baseball softball program, wrestling program. We are putting out state championships every single year and we, we plan on doing that as *** football program. We plan on getting back and adding, uh, that next state championship in the football column next year and there's no doubt in my mind that we're gonna be able to do that. Uh, everything in football is simple. It's just that the simple things are very, very difficult and that can't be further or, or more true that when you come to work every day, our object or our, our goal, our mission every single day is very, very simple, build, grow and develop relationships with student athletes to allow them to be successful on and off the field. Now, the, the hard part about that is this consistency in which we have to come to work every single day and do that. Uh, and it's not always easy. There's always bumps in the road, there's always adversity, but that's part of the process. And it also, which makes, uh, the game of football and all it entails the best game in the entire world that I truly believe that that kids can grow, develop and learn not only about football but about life as well. So, uh I, I take that personal, I wanna grow, I wanna grow these young athletes. I wanna make sure that when they're seniors and they walk out into the real world, they're better people, they're more mature, they're better citizens, they're better fathers, uh, they're better husbands, um, than they could ever be without playing the game of football. And I truly believe that uh the big thing moving forward in this program and I believe is uh the piece of connection, there has to be connection uh with the players. There have to be connection with the coaches. There has to be connection with teachers, there has to be connection with parents. There has to be connections with uh the community, our middle school program, our youth program. And I think sometimes that gets overlooked, but I can tell you that is my number one priority. Uh when I go to work every single day is to grow those connections in all f uh of our program, including what I just mentioned. And so I can promise you this, uh those will be uh deliberate, those will be, um will, will have my greatest attention from here until my end end of my tenure here at Hoover. And, uh I look forward to that. I look forward to meeting new people. I look forward to allowing people to come in and, and and go be alongside me, parents, community leaders, school board members, principals, athletic directors that we can grow this thing. Um And ultimately, at the end of the day, uh produce great citizens and great people. And through that, I think we can win championships. *** lot of them, by the way. All right, if they thought this year we did *** good job. Hold on because, because I'm telling you, uh we can do *** lot better and we will move forward. So with that being said, uh I see *** lot of the media here and, and guys and gals that I spoke with throughout the year one, I appreciate y'all anytime that y'all wanna come out and, and cover the greatness of, of Hoover, I want, I want you to be able to do that. So, uh with that being said, any questions, how did you feel like this, like *** year long interview? Not many people get that kind of, no. Uh I'm, I'm not, um I'm not sitting here saying that I didn't get *** very unique uh opportunity to do that. And uh I'm ***, I'm *** great believer that you have to get the most out of your team or the most possible that, that you can get out of them. And I felt like um we were very, we overall did that this year. Um I thought we could have won *** couple more games, but overall, uh we produced something the product that we put on the field every single week, um, was something to be very, very prideful of. And, uh, the guys went out and played, uh, lights out majority of the time and, and it produced with ***, with *** region championship going to the third round and playing, um, playing the defending state champions, uh, you know, to the last play, so very, very proud of that. Very, very, uh, you know, appreciative and honored and humbled to be in that position and, and have that unique opportunity. So, very early on, um, you know, we talked about going through experiences and, uh, the guys that were in that locker room, players, coaches, uh, they were the only people in that locker room, they're the only people that have to answer these certain questions. They're the only people that have to prepare every single day, every single week, um, and judged on two hours worth of performance on what they did all week long and through those unique experiences together, right? Uh, *** bond started to form where we were, we were playing and better and better each and every week. Uh, and I really felt, um, we feel like it's us against the world and when, when you come together and, and you're playing for more than just yourself, uh, really special things happen and, and we did that this year, 42 you mentioned, you know, the values that you have, that you want to put into these student ale not only to develop them on the field but off the field, but with your staff too is also important. Are you gonna keep the same guys maybe from last year? I've been doing this *** long time and I don't, I, I cannot remember *** staff that stayed uh the, the exact same and uh guys move on, they have opportunities and uh we also know that uh we want to make sure that we outfit our staff with the best in the state. And I plan, uh I plan on doing that. Uh, and, and there's *** lot of conversations that already been had uh about some opportunities about bringing some, some individuals in. And I can't think enough, you know, Doctor Lamey and, and Miss Hogan, they understand that dynamic, um with *** school this size, there's always gonna be some turnover because people don't realize, you know, not only does it have to fit your football staff, but it has to fit the teaching that happens in the school. And um we take academics very, very seriously here at Hoover and, and so not only are we gonna get great coaches, we're also gonna bring in great teachers and great people um that can fulfill that role in the, in the building too. So without *** doubt, um, we're gonna, we're gonna definitely bring in uh the brightest and the best to come in and, and help us with that staff there with the values as well. Well, there's *** resilience, there's *** resilience when you come to work every day and you don't necessarily know the outcome, but you're willing to come to see, you know, and, and, uh, *** lot of it's the bond that you have with, with players and amongst each other. Um, these guys have done *** great job all year long of growing that bond and wanting to win, not necessarily for them, but for each other, you know, about halfway through the year, we started breaking our huddle down on Hoover, not on anything else because it is, it is about Hoover and these guys, um believing in themselves, this coaching staff, believing in the team that we can do whatever we set our mind to do. Not because we just say it, but because we're willing to do what it takes every single day with consistency and determination and perseverance, um that, that has never been seen before and, and through that, through that dedication, through that, um, sacrifice by the players and coaches and community, um, there's no doubt we can reach our goal, which we're not ashamed or, or, or we're not scared to talk about championships here at Hoover and that's, that's definitely the goal in front of us. It means *** lot. Um I've had gold in my room. I had the pleasure of coaching him not only as *** head coach, but as *** position coach as well. Um, and here's the thing, trust isn't built in *** day. Right. Confidence isn't built in *** day. Um, it comes through consistency and not only just showing up but, but knowing that, that there's gonna be *** dedication every single day. Right. It, it's easy to do something once. It's easy to come once *** week and, and do something. But when you're willing to come to work, you know, I, I can't tell you how many times I saw 100 and 35 kids on the football field at 6 a.m. in the morning with lights on and, uh, you know, because of that willingness and, and not only by gold but, but by, but by our entire uh team and, and, you know, that, that shows you the commitment level that shows you um where that common goal and where we wanna go. And so, um having him here and, and listen, he's *** born leader. He's *** guy that, uh even if he wasn't here, he's *** guy that's gonna take over this program and take it to new heights and I truly believe in him and his ability. And so, um, you know, I, it starts with me, it starts with the trust in me, it starts with, with, with building the team and having *** plan and having *** vision. Um, but those guys, I, I can promise you that they're, they're willing to do the work that it takes to, to win championships. And the good thing about this program and the people that we have here, we're talented enough to, to, to, you know, reach our goals. And so I, I fully expect that, um, sooner than later, you mentioned bringing this up three notches. What does that look like from your perspective over the next couple of months until we talk to you before, I guess? Well, it's the consistency level, right? And so there's *** lot of time between now and, and August 21st or whenever we play. And so the biggest thing is bringing in certain people as far as staff to make sure that we're doing what we need to do to grow and develop these young athletes. And so, um, come January, uh, the weight room will be different, you know what I mean? And, and, uh, going into the facility every single day, going into team meetings, um, the guys will walk in January 7th and it'll feel different and not because we try to change or go away from our region championship just because it's about to get intensified, uh, *** lot more than, than what we saw even this year. And, and so, uh, I really believe in the people that I'm gonna be bringing in, I believe in the school system and, and, and our ability to, to ramp this thing up. Anybody else guys, I really appreciate y'all coming anytime, anytime we have *** opportunity to, to show, uh, what Hoover's about and what we're, what uh speaking our vision, I take great pride in that. So I wanna, I wanna invite you anytime you wanna come out uh with our facilities, with our players. Um We have some of the best in the state without *** out. So, uh I encourage you to continue to positively show the light on these young athletes because they're doing great, great things every single day, not only on the field but in the classroom as well. So anytime you wanna come around Hoover and, and show off, uh please do so. Thank you.