Caleb comes home Part 2: ‘Our duty is to raise the bar’

By RICHIE HALL

ARCADIA – The Hamilton Heights football field that Caleb Small played on was a little bit different from the football field Small will coach on.

The Huskies’ football facilities got a major upgrade a couple years ago, with a turf field and a brand-new building. When Small first saw them, he said he was “in awe.”

“They did it right. Everything’s beautiful,” said Small. “Facilities will never be an excuse for a loss. We’ve got everything we need and more.”

Small noted the photo of Jarrod Mason, Hamilton Heights’ late, beloved principal that is seen right away while entering the team room.

“It’s pretty cool to see Mr. Mason’s face as you walk into the team room, knowing that he loves Husky football, not just Husky football, but Hamilton Heights in general,” said Small. “It’s just a good reminder that there’s a lot of special people that have been a part of this program. Our duty is to keep that rolling and to raise the bar of the program as they would expect.”

Selflessness and toughness

Small said that the men he was coached by and worked for – Steve Stirn, Chuck Reeves, Gene “Smoke” Starrett and Jason Simmons – taught him and his teammates about how to be selfless. That’s something Small has already been talking about with his players.

“They taught us how to be selfless and to care about our teammates and invest into our teammates as much or more than ourselves,” said Small.

Those same coaches also taught toughness – in both body and mind.

“This is the message I gave our kids yesterday,” said Small. “When we got good, we were founded on toughness. And not just physical toughness and getting up and playing the next play, but more of our mental toughness, and being able to deal with adversity and those types of things. Coaches put us through that. And in due time, it was good for us. We felt like games were easier than practice at times.”

During the Huskies’ scrimmage with Greenwood on Wednesday, there was a game-like feel to a lot of the plays. While the setting was informal, there was quite a bit of intensity when it came to each play.

“I challenge our coaches to make it as game-like as possible every time we step on the field, whether we’re in pads or not,” said Small. “We want to create an intensity in a way that is positive, but also where it slows the game down when they get to a Friday night. If we’re intense and we coach with a passion and a purpose every single rep, pre-snap and post-snap, it gives ourselves a chance to coach our kids at a high level and for them to have to respond to that, too.”

There was celebrating if a player made his way to the end zone. That’s fine with Small, who said he wants the team to “celebrate all successes,” saying it helps with camaraderie and keeping people engaged.

“Yeah, it’s just practice,” said Small. “But for us, again, we’re trying to treat it like a game, right? So, when we score, we want to be happy about it, because it’s hard to score a touchdown in high school football. It really is. It’s a hard thing to do, and so all those times that they’re getting nitpicked and coached hard, that’s what we do it for. We do it to have fun and have success and we call it party in the end zone.”

Heights is starting a two-week moratorium this weekend, so the Huskies won’t be back on the field until July. Once the Heights players are back, things get serious: Small said the practices aren’t going to be “as fun as it’s been in June, but we’re going to get in shape so we can go play fast and at our highest level when we get to August.”