Elkins football working to compete under new head coach

ELKINS, W.Va. (WBOY) — After winning two games over the last two seasons, a change was in order for the Elkins Tigers; that change was a familiar face.

New head coach Chad Ware has brought a whole new staff on board for the 2024 season as he looks to turn the tide for the Tigers.

“We’re just trying to learn how to compete,” said Ware. “Compete on every snap, every down, every series, every rep we take in practice, every sprint. We’re kinda starting from the bottom up. Hasn’t been a lot of success here over the last three seasons. You know everything we do, we’re trying to maintain from a positive standpoint, and just build that energy and momentum.”

Building energy and momentum begins long before the first game, even before the first practice. These Tigers have been putting in the work for a while now, and are ready to bear the fruits of their labor.

“We emphasize the weight room, we emphasize energy in practice, keeping the energy high gets everybody picked up and just being determined and focused in on practice,” said Aidan Lambert.

“We’ve just been grinding on technique, and form and everything else to help our team,” added Nick Bowers. “New head coach Chad Ware, he’s really brought the community into the football team, and we’re all very excited for the season.”

And as any competitor will tell you, having the support of your home fans is essential. But in Elkins, that support goes beyond Friday night.

“The community has been great, we’ve had to engage them,” said Ware. “We’ve engaged the middle school, the youth programs. It’s been an overhaul of everything Elkins football to this point.”

“It’s really a great feeling, knowing that everybody has our back. Behind the decisions we make, and whether we win or lose, we know we always got our community behind our back,” Bowers said.

A new era of Elkins football kicks off Friday, Aug. 30 when the Tigers travel to Liberty to take on the Mountaineers.

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