Kris Pickle needed something to help his team re-focus after a loss to Saltillo in the regular-season finale.
With a No. 2 seed and a home game already locked up prior to the loss, Pickle realized it would be difficult for his players to be locked in and energized for a game that didn’t have any playoff implications for the Trojans.
After the loss, Pickle happened to find an old sledge hammer. He wasn’t sure what it had been used for — if anything — but he decided to put it to use, so he used white tape to tape the length of the handle. He then asked all of the players to write their numbers on the handle to signify everyone was invested in and dedicated to helping the Trojans make a deep postseason run.
The fact that New Hope wrote “Callaway” on the stick shows the Trojans were successful in their first step. The next step will come at 7 p.m. Friday when New Hope (10-2) travels to Pearl (10-3) in the second round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A North State playoffs. The winner of that game will take on the winner of the Oxford-West Point game next week in the North State title game for a chance to advance to Starkville to play for a championship.
Pickle said New Hope will bring the sledge hammer with it Friday to give the players a tangible example of the unity they will need to keep their season alive and build off the program’s first playoff victory since 2010.
“The kids were excited about it, but in the same sense it is a good thing because as the year has gone on some of the excitement from winning has kind of gone down. It is kind of expected,” Pickle said. “You lose a game and it is like you’re in shock and everybody is searching for answers, but you sit back and realize you have only lost two games all year.”
In a way, it is fitting New Hope has crossed paths with Pearl because Pickle has mentioned the Pirates often this season when talking about successful programs he wants his program to aspire to be.
That’s where the sledge hammer comes in. Pickle hopes his team can rally around it and dominate up front, take care of the football, and establish a more efficient running attack, among other things.
“It all started back at the Columbus game when we talked about knocking down walls and not going around them,” Pickle said. “When you have something to look at when you come off the field to remind you about your commitment to the team and ask yourself , ‘Am I doing my part?’ Hopefully, it gives them something to look at.”
Pickle said this is the first time he has been on a coaching staff that opted to do something like this. He said the coaches wanted to make sure the team was back on the same page and focused on one goal after the loss to Saltillo. He said he didn’t want the Trojans to run from the wall, or the adversity it faced after the Saltillo game. Instead, he hoped the sledge hammer would help the Trojans attack their next obstacle head on.
“That’s what we’re trying to get them to understand, not only in football, but in life,” Pickle said. “Hit it full speed or head on. If you run away from it or around it, eventually it is going to come back to get you.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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