The relationship between the six began on the football field and grew from there.
As a first-year coach in 2007 of, in most cases a group of talented freshmen, North Pike offensive coordinator Brinson Wall knew he was in charge of teaching his charges the game of football.
Sure, they all wanted to win on the football field, Wall said.
“It’s not rocket science,” he said. “Most of our relationship is football. We all have the same belief and common goal. We all want to succeed at North Pike.”
But talking to his players on the Jaguars’ offense, the fourth-year North Pike coach has taught them so much more than just football.
“He’s been just like a second dad to me,” senior receiver Jemerick Jordan said of Wall. “Any problem I have, I can go to him. He’s a great motivator.”
Jordan recalled the Jaguars’ game against Loyd Star last season when the senior receiver was struggling with holding on to the football.
“He said no matter how many balls I drop, to catch more than I drop.
“Without him,” Jordan added, “it would still be a good team. But he makes it more exciting. He takes it seriously, but at the same time, he wants us to have fun.”
Running back Jalen Adams also makes football fun, several times at the expense of his offensive coordinator.
“He’s a jokester, a quiet clown,” Wall said of Adams. “He’s always pulling jokes and having fun.”
Adams admitted to putting water in Wall’s seat when the team gathered to watch film for upcoming opponents, and occasionally popping the coach with a wet towel. But, he added, Wall can be credited for helping him mature.
“He’s made me who I am ... a better football player and a better person,” Adams said. “If I don’t know something, he’ll tell me about it. He’s a
real down-to-earth person.”
Senior quarterback Revis Butler said Wall could be credited for keeping him from quitting football altogether following his freshman season.
“I had so many downfalls in my freshman year,” said Butler, who passed for 1,627 yards and nine touchdowns for the Jaguars last season. “I didn’t want to play anymore. I was on the edge.
“Coach Wall and (head coach Chris) Smith talked to me and got me to stay. Coach Wall helped me mature as a young man and a football player.”
Wall said growing his relationship with the Jaguars has been a simple formula.
“I just put the ball in the kids’ hands and let them go play,” said Wall, who coached 10 seasons at South Pike before heading to North Pike. “A lot of these kids were freshmen when I got here. We spend a lot of time together.”
Wall added that he and the players are on the field together two hours per day during the season, and spend all day and most of the evening together Friday.
Jemerick Jordan said Wall always finds a way to keep his players motivated.
“You can be at your worst in a game,” Jordan said, “and he’ll say anything to motivate you. He makes you think it’s never so bad. He’s always been there for us.”
