HSFT Stop #46: Aliceville

After a 2-8 season a year ago, including a winless region record, Aliceville knows there is plenty of room to grow.

But for head coach Anthony Sawyer, the growing pains this group experienced are part of the process. With several new coaches joining the staff this year, the Yellow Jackets are hoping a change in voice can help bring a change in results.

“The biggest thing for me is what we’re going to always talk about: always do what you’re coached to do,” Sawyer said. “If you do what you’re coached to do, that means we can do what we do better than they do what they do. You can always fall back on your coaching.”

For Sawyer, it’s about making sure every player knows his role and understands that doing his job is what makes the team better.

That’s especially important for a group that’s still learning. This year’s Yellow Jackets aren’t just looking for individual improvement — they’re looking for everyone to buy in.

“This team that we have right here, I think we have everything it takes to go as far as we want to,” Sawyer said. “But we’re going to have to be as good as our weakest player. Everybody, if you play for Aliceville High School, you’re going to have some type of position. You won’t be sitting on the side. You’re going to be able to tell mom, ‘I do something.’ If it’s just bringing us water, you’re going to be able to tell everybody will know what they’re doing, and everybody’s going to do what they do to the best of their ability.”

That responsibility starts with the seniors.

Senior wide receiver Tibaous Storey-Holin has gone from looking up to older players to now being one of the players younger teammates look to for leadership.

“My expectations this year are to go out and be better than we were last year, prove way more and be more of a team,” Storey-Holin said. “Growing up, I was someone that had leaders that I looked up to. Now I’m having other people look up to me, so it means a lot.”

That leadership is already making an impact on players like safety Jamilan Pruitt, who says the seniors have helped him develop his game while also showing him what accountability looks like.

“All of the seniors, but mostly Tibaous, he helped me on my game,” Pruitt said. “All of the rest of the seniors, they all just follow and help everybody out as best they can. They clean up behind you, and it translates. I feel like you take accountability for all the things you do, and it all just translates for you.”

Now, Aliceville has a chance to show how much those lessons have stuck.

The Yellow Jackets open the season Aug. 21 against Pickens County.