The Armuchee community welcomes Coach Avery, the newest addition to the tribe. His position here at Armuchee will be a PE teacher, as well as the new head football coach. Avery has a wife, Jennifer, who he has been married to for ten years. They have two daughters, Emma Lee who will be attending Armuchee next year in third grade, and Lily Ann who will attend Armuchee next year as well starting preschool. Avery came to Armuchee looking for a job and a safe place for his family and found an even more immense family. He said, “I believe Mr Pethel has installed a positive school culture at Armuchee, and I want my family to be deeply involved. The Armuchee community is an area my wife and I feel very good raising our daughters in and planting roots.” Coach Avery feels substantially welcomed by everyone here at Armuchee. Avery also added that his favorite part of Armuchee is the people in the community and how we are like one big family.
As Avery will be the new head football coach, he has had a lot of experience coaching football. He graduated from high school, went to UCF and Florida State College in Jacksonville, Florida, and got his bachelor’s degree in supervision and management. Before being a part of The Bolles School he was at Oakley High School for 3 years and Ponte Vedra High School for 4 years and he also worked at a couple of other schools in the Jacksonville area. For the last three years, Coach Avery has been at The Bolles School. It was there that he was the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach during that time. His many years of experience in football have brought him unique ways of making his football teams better. He said, “The foundation of our culture is built on relentless effort, competitive greatness, and our tribe. These are super important in building a team I think.” He plans to improve the team’s bond to create a more trusted family where they can excel in football against any opponent. Though the foundation is monumentous to success, the small things are very significant as well. He said, “I watch the film of the other opponents to make sure we are preparing our players and making sure we have a fine run of the things we are already good at. I make sure I do these things before every game week to fully prepare our players for a successful win.” Coach Avery makes sure to cover all the advantages in football they can have over the opponent making sure the team is as prepared as possible. He said he is here to improve the Armuchee football team in every way he can through practice and creating a tight bond between players.
Though Coach Avery is new to the tribe, the football players already have a positive outlook on what he brings to the table. Caiden Wright, freshman, said, “I feel like the new coach will be good for the team and I feel like I can trust him to make the team better.” Coach Avery has already made a substantial impact on the players as they already think highly of him. They trust Coach Avery to come in and change the football team to win and succeed far into the competition. Along with Caiden, Cael Hudson also trusts Coach Avery in that he will try to create a better football family. Cael Hudson, sophomore, said, “I feel great about him. I feel like he can offer us better opportunities for offense but also for defense.” Since Avery was the offensive coordinator at The Bolles School, Cael knows he will improve the offense but feels confident Avery will also improve the defense showing the faith Cael has in coach Avery. Both Caiden and Cael have faith that Avery will create a new environment for the football team, improving the players in order to excel far into the season. Many players on the team have faith in Coach Avery but Mr. Pethel also has a lot of faith in Coach Avery. Mr. Pethel said, “I’m very excited about coach Avery coming. He came from a very successful program in Jacksonville, Florida. He’s got a great plan, very organized, and I think he’s going to be a great addition to our staff.”
Though the football season won’t officially start until school starts back for the 2025 school year in August, Coach Avery is exceptionally excited to start practicing. Starting May first the football team starts spring practice. Coach Avery said, “We’re gonna use spring football to start building relationships, begin to implement new schemes on offense and defense and start to change practice routines and structure. We will work on skills, technique, and offensive and defensive plays too. Though our main focus in spring practice is to move fast and have fun.” Coach Avery is ready to make football a fun environment for the upcoming players to enjoy the game of football. Though the fundamentals and learning plays are important, Coach Avery is making sure that the players have a substantial amount of enjoyment for the new football season. Avery also said that it’s not just football players but anyone who wants to be involved in football. He wants every student interested in any aspect of football to have a chance. He said, “The goal is to get many students involved in the program. I want to get as many people playing but also a way to get students involved whether that’s managers, filmers, etc. It is offering an experience they can’t get anywhere else. I want football to be fun for them and I want to prove athletic development, not just in football but in any sport they play.”
Coach Avery is here to improve all he can and start winning games for the tribe. The football players, other coaches, and even Mr. Pethel have faith in Coach Avery that he will make an influence on the football and improve all he can. Eventually bringing home wins for the Armuchee tribe.
