Hello Poteau High School students! Aren’t we all excited for the football season? As of now we all know the fun football Fridays, but have you ever thought about what goes on in the Coaches and players heads? Although football is no doubt stressful and difficult Coach Hayes remains to have high expectations for his players “I am expecting to put together a team that Poteau can be proud of, I think we have a really good set of boys. I really really like our senior class. I think we have some really good leaders in there, starting with our captains, which are Sam Tecla, Kross Odom, Gavin Glaze, and Spencer Perry.” We have a good set of boys including the football team as a whole. The captains of our team are here to guide us to victory, and help the underclassmen learn how to take leadership, and stand with the Pride of Poteau. Even though the Pirates have a new head coach, our defensive coordinator Mike Odom has also been setting high standards for many years. “Every year you face adversity, I think our team last year the guys came and grew from it. Any time you face adversity it either throws you down or you grow from it. I think our group did a good job growing from it, being more prepared for the future on it, and becoming more disciplined and tighter as a family. I think it paid dividends. I don’t know if I would ever say one team is better or worse.” Our coaches have made some very good points, we shouldn’t let last season define this year’s team or its leaders. Every year, teams face struggles and obstacles, it just depends on how we grow from them. This year our team has stepped up and grew from it. They are more connected and focused, they are working better together as one. If they continue to have a positive attitude, there’s a good chance we’ll see something very special happen this season! So let us do our part as the Pride of Poteau, let’s show up, cheer loud, and support the team with true Pride of Poteau spirit!