Coach Tom Hall shares emotional decision to leave Manchester for Prince George

PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, Va. -- Tom Hall is considered one of the Central Virginia's most successful high school football coaches. During his 25 years at Manchester High School in Chesterfield County, Hall won 196 games and the 2019 state high school football title. But Hall left the Lancers after last season to takeover the football program at Prince George High School, a team with much fewer wins during that time. Why?

"It was a complete leap of faith. Did not know where I was going to go. I think God put that feeling in my gut that I've got plans for you elsewhere," Hall told CBS 6 Sports Director Lane Casadonte about his decision to change schools. "My wife and kids took it horrible. But I was fine with it."

Returning Prince George Royals players were more than fine to welcome their new coach.

"I started jumping up and down honestly," senior Caleb Watts said. "I'm excited. It's my senior year, my last ride. I want to go out winning."

To help instill a winning attitude, Hall created a difficult pre-season training schedule that started well before sunrise.

"This was the hardest summer program I've ever come up with in 35 years of coaching," Hall said. "I'm thinking, 'OK, we're going to thin the kids out, get rid of the kids that don't really want to be here, don't need to be here. They kept showing up and they kept working hard."

Watts said Hall has set a new tone for the program.

"It builds character. Stability. It makes us a better team. We're disciplined. That's what we need," he said. "We had 100 kids show up here the first week. That's never happened here. It's a big change but we're ready for it.

One thing Hall wanted to make clear to his players — winning is important.

"I'm old school... the world is full of people that do their best and never win. We want to get them past that. I want them to find ways to win," he said. "I want to teach my kids how to compete. I think that's a trait that's been lost in this generation."

Hall left a program in Manchester where he won at least 10 games in seven of his last nine non-Covid seasons. He takes over a team that has never won more than eight games in a season.

"I want to re-enact that same thing here. I want to build those relationships. I want to see these kids come back in 10 -15 years and be great fathers and husbands and be successful in life. That's really what coaching is about," Hall said. "I might be a little crazy. But when you're called to do something, you don't question it. We're going to be successful. I'm not going to sit here and predict what we're going to be, but we're going to be successful because the kids do too many right things to not be rewarded for it."

While Coach Hall does not wan to make any predictions, Watts, who is headed to the University of Richmond next years, will.

"I think we're going to wake up the state, honestly. I believe that in my heart because we've put in enough work. We're still putting in work every day. We're building one percent every day. We're changing the culture here and it's going to wake up a lot of people," he said.

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