#HSFT22 – Stop #2 Hatley Tigers

CLASS 3A  | REGION 4
HEAD COACH: Seth Lee
Aug. 26 Hamilton Home
Sept. 1 Smithville Away
Sept. 9 Mantachie Away
Sept. 16 Belmont Home
Sept. 23 Holly Springs Home
Sept. 30 Open
Oct. 6 Amory* Home
Oct. 14 Open
Oct. 21 Aberdeen* Home
Oct. 27 Kossuth Away
Nov. 4 Open
* region

 

When the Hatley Tigers take the field this fall, they won’t be the same team they were a year ago. First-year head coach Seth Lee is making sure of that.

“It’s a completely clean slate,” Lee said. “It’s a new coaching staff. We’re starting completely over. And that’s kind of what we wanted to do coming in.”

Change can be hard, but Lee is helping his players figure it out.

“He’s making it really simple for us,” sophomore Banks Smith said. “He’s making it to where we understand it. He explains when we need him to, and really just helps out whenever, with whatever we need.”

The kids are picking it up quickly, too.

“The new system is great,” linebacker Cayson Williams said. “I know it by heart, already. Just get the playbook and study.”

But it wasn’t just the plays that needed an overhaul. The team’s attitude needed a change as well.

“What we really need to improve on his mentality because no one really had a good mindset last year and it really affected us all season,” Smith said.

And Lee is already seeing results.

“They’re buying in,” Lee said. “They’re doing everything we’ve asked them to do. And our attendance has been high this year. We’re averaging about 40 to 45 each day during the summer. So I hear that’s a change from last year.”

Lee said he couldn’t have walked into a better situation. And his players are just as happy he’s there.

“We love him,” Williams said. “We love coach Lee.”

Categories: 2022 High School Football Tour, High School Sports, Local Sports, Sports