By Sherri Blevins
On Monday, April 8, Coach Tygard visited the Bridgeport City Council Meeting to introduce himself to the council and request support for the North Jackson High School Football Program.
While at the meeting, Tygard addressed the city council thanking them for the opportunity to speak with them and expressed how excited he is to be back in the area. He said, “ I am excited to move back to Bridgeport.” He went on to explain that he is extremely excited for his first head football coaching job to be at the sixth highest percentage of winning high schools in the state of Alabama. He continued, “ I am very honored, humbled, and blessed to be the head football coach at a place like this. The school has a very proud tradition.
Tygard spelled out his plan of action for his new program. He stated, “My plan as a head football coach is first of all to restore the pride the community has in the football program. “He explained that he wanted to start with a clean slate and rebuild the program including the culture, pride, discipline standards, and revamp the facility. He said, “It is what I am used to. We are starting over in a lot of areas.”
Tygard highlighted the steps he has already taken with the team to instill a sense of pride and discipline into the young men he coaches. He said, “The field house is massive, over 20,000 square feet. We are in the process of cleaning and painting every square inch of the facility. The kids have not been in the weight room yet.” Tygard stated that the boys have mopped, used Windex, vacuumed, and scrubbed to earn the right to work out in the weight room. The boys have not pushed back against me, and they have earned that right this week. We are also starting over in the locker room. They will know that everything has a certain place, and they are expected to put it there. We are very disciplined in that area.”
When speaking about the new culture he wanted to establish, he said, “As we start over, I want to make sure that all three cities we serve feel very important. It is not Stevenson’s school, it is not Bridgeport’s school, and it is not Hollywood’s school, it is everybody’s school. Regardless of the past rivalries, my goal is to make sure all three towns are proud to be coming to the games and supporting these boys. We have some awesome kids that are very special and work very hard. Some of them have great home lives, and some of them don’t. I want to provide the facility and the best four years for each of them. That is why I choose to coach high school football.” He added, “My goal is to have seventy-five kids on our team. I don’t care if they think they stink at football; I want them to be a part of our team and family.”
Tygard then asked the council for funds to purchase needed helmets and other equipment. The council agreed to give the school $1,500.00.
