We will be back under the Friday night lights in just three short months, but this time, the Berries will be led by new head coach Troy Hudson. Hudson is currently a guidance counselor at LHS and was previously the defensive coordinator. Already having worked with the athletes in the past season, he has built a bond and a strong relationship with the players.
“With Coach Hudson coming last year as our defensive coordinator, he helped us out defensively,” junior Bryson Herr said. “I have a lot of trust in Coach Hudson and what he has to offer. I also know he will work very hard to make sure we seniors have the senior year we want to have. I am very excited to play under Coach Hudson.”
Even though the team has worked with Coach Hudson before, his new role as head coach brings a shift in leadership. Now the whole team is depending on him to lead them to victory. Last year, the Berries had one of their strongest seasons yet, winning the conference championship and finishing with an overall record of 9–2.
“I’m excited about a lot with our team. I mean, we’ve got a lot of returning starters,” Coach Hudson said. “We got about 75% of our players back from last year. We’re not going to change a whole lot, but we’re going to add some things to it that we feel are necessary to help us be more successful for the upcoming year. I think we have a good opportunity in front of us to keep growing from where we were last year, and I’m excited to see where the season goes.”
When hiring a new head coach, administrators wanted someone who met not only their needs but also the students’ expectations and the team’s goals. Coach Hudson stood out as the perfect fit.
“First, when choosing a coach, I went to our returning lettermen and posed that question to them,” Athletic Director Brian Strong said. “Seeing what they were looking for, it was interesting because a lot of what they said lined up with what I was thinking and hoping they would say. Like being an inspirational leader, somebody who isn’t just going to stand up there and yell and scream at them about their performance, but someone who is going to inspire you to be even better than you thought you could be. And I think Coach Hudson certainly checks that box.”
The players also wanted a coach who had firsthand experience with the game and had been where they had been.
“They wanted someone who had been through the trenches and had done what they’re doing, Coach Hudson and his high school and collegiate time played at a very high level of football,” Strong said. “He’s also got experience in leadership positions. He’s been a head coach, he’s been an assistant coach, he’s been an athletic director, and he has been in a leadership position, and this tells me that he is organized and he can take the task of being a head coach and flourish. So when we looked for the head coach, I wanted to make sure I got input from the student athletes, which meshed up with what I was thinking anyway.”
To build chemistry, the team plans to take time outside of practice to grow closer as a unit and foster a strong relationship with Coach Hudson.
“I plan to talk with Coach Hudson every once in a while to build a relationship and to hang out with my football teammates outside of practice and games,” sophomore Quincy Jackson said. “Things like team dinners and meeting up and playing some catch in the park, just so we can build that strong relationship and have a great year.”
The Berries will return to the field on August 8 against the Peru Tigers, with hopes of seeing new strategies implemented under their new head coach.
“I’m hoping Coach Hudson opens up the passing game a little more,” Herr said. “The wing-T offense is very effective, but more of a passing game, along with our run game, would be very effective in our offense. I’m looking forward to this whole season coming up. Some goals we’re hoping to reach are back-to-back conference champs, win a sectional and the ultimate goal, be state champs.”
