‘Atomic Habits’

Talladega, AL – Settled into his new job as Talladega’s head football coach, Dorsey looking for daily ‘one percent’ improvement as Tigers seek to reverse years of losing.

By Joe Medley

Damien Dorsey doesn’t just want better habits with his first Talladega High School football team.

The Tiger’s newest coach wants them to go “Atomic.” As in the book, “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones.”

The James Clear book spells out Dorsey’s day-by-day model.

“Reading this book ‘Atomic Habits,’ we’re just talking about one percent better,” he said Wednesday. “I’m challenging the kids to get one percent better. I’m challenging the coaches to get one percent better. I challenge myself every day to get one percent better.”

Dorsey made his first appearance at Talladega County football media day as Talladega’s head coach Wednesday.

He appeared at a media day that was momentous for reasons other than his first appearance. Wednesday also marked the first Talladega County football media day after the former Talladega County Central High School closed.

It means one less helmet-and-jersey set in the backdrop for the head table at Talladega’s branch of First Bank of Alabama.

—The day’s other notable topics saw Munford head coach Michael Easley speak out about the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s December reclassification and realignment adjustment that sent the Lions from a Class 4A north region with several nearby rivals to Class 4A, Region 3, which includes teams as far away as Bullock County.

The AHSAA corrected its initial realignment announcement, citing misreported enrollment data from the Alabama Department of Education. Anniston bumped back down from 5A to 4A, and dominoes fell on Munford and Cleburne County like stones.

The Lions and Tigers bumped to region with Booker T. Washington, Bullock County, Handley, St. James, Talladega and Tallassee.

“It’s a difference in traveling 30 minutes and two-and-a-half hours,” Easley said, estimating the Lions’ travel expenses to jump 30 to 40 percent.

Easley said reclassification also impacted moving the annual rivalry game with Lincoln to the season-opener, rather than its more traditional midseason slot.

“When the regions came out the first day, we were in a nine-team region, which eliminated the ability to play a non-region Week 5 game,” he said. “We went ahead and booked it Week 1.”

The AHSAA’s next-day adjustment put Munford in an eight-team region, which would’ve allowed the Lincoln game to stay midseason. Easley and Lincoln coach Matt Zedaker had locked in the new date.

—Zedaker, remarking about how coaching has changed in the eight years he’s coached the Golden Bears, noted the trend of players jumping schools.

“When I started eight years ago, I didn’t have to worry about putting a fence around the Lincoln community,” he said. “Now, even as you have your kids, you have to recruit your kids, and I think that’s just a trickle-down effect from what’s going on the in the college ranks, portals and things like that.

“Obviously, NIL is on the rise. That’s coming. I just left an Alabama High School Athletic Association conference last week, and that was the big thing. It’s coming. Get ready for it.”

—Second-year Sylacauga head coach Chris Smelley addressed how his kayaking mishap impacted his perspective. He was stranded at sea for 12 hours, with no phone or life jacket, until the U.S. Coast Guard spotted and rescued him about two miles out from Grayton Beach, Fla.

He noted that he was found 10 minutes after a prayer vigil held at Sylacauga First Baptist Church.

“When negative things happen in life, you hope that there are some positive things that come out of it,” he said. “For a lot of our kids at Sylacauga and guys on our football team, meeting together and praying together and kind of seeing the power of prayer come to fruition in a quick moment like that was, hopefully, an experience that they can kind of fall back on and see the hand of God working in a pretty powerful, crazy way.”

Media day’s most interesting session featured the new coach in town, Dorsey, and the latest to try at Talladega.

He replaces Bill Smith, now Donoho’s head coach.Smith went 0-20 in two seasons after inheriting a team that won four games in two years.

Talladega has had two winning seasons since mounting three in a row, from 1992-94. Dorsey is the Tigers’ ninth head coach since 2000.

He played at Wellborn High School before transferring to Anniston and parlayed his high school career into a chance to play for the University of Louisville. His coaching stints included being head coach at the now-closed Talladega County Central. He’s served as an assistant at Park Crossing, Bob Jones and Decatur High.

Dorsey said his players have “been through a storm” since his January hiring, all in the hopes of producing a day when clouds clear. His “brick-by-brick” philosophy started small.

“First thing I did when I got there, we just worked on the social part,” he said. “Just handshakes, eye contact and understanding what it’s all about. Not just football, but we deal with so much.

“My thing is, manhood disguises football. We’ve got manhood things in everything we do, and shaking hands is the first part of showing integrity, being an accountable and responsible young men.”

He called his roster of 35 players “soldiers” as they prepare to embark on play in brutal Class 4A region with Handley, Booker T. Washington, St. James and Tallassee, among others.

Talladega has yet to play its first regular-season game under Dorsey, but the summer 7-on-7 and OTA season brought encouragement.

“We’ve lost, and we’ve won,” Dorsey said.

The second half of that assessment marks progress, enough so to nearly pull tears from Dorsey’s eyes as he talked about it.

“We’ve done won way more than the past three, four years,” quarterback/running back/safety/punter/long snapper/punt returner Zae Lyles said. “We were 1-29. You feel me? We’ve only won one game in the last three years, and we’ve done won way more. It’s just a blessing.”

Dorsey hopes a taste of success will pique an appetite, which begats an attitude..

“We’re not here just to lose ballgames,” Dorsey said. “The days of Talladega being a doormat are over.”

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