Hookfin leads to Tomcats to team of the week
BROWNSVILLE, Tenn — The Haywood Tomcats in week eight suffered their first loss of the season to Oakland, 52-6. Instead of hanging their heads and pouting about the loss, head coach Steve Hookfin told his team the same thing he would after they won a game, “we need to get better,” Hookfin said.
They did just that, rebounding the next week to take down North Side 48-29, locking up a home playoff game and a district title. But their work on Friday nights is a product of what get’s done during the week.
“We’re trying to get them to hold themselves accountable and responsible for doing their jobs perfect, and it starts at practice, practice don’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect and that’s where we’re trying to get to,” Hookfin said.
With playoffs right around the corner and the regular season winding down, it’s easy for players to take their foot off the gas pedal and think about what’s to come. Not for the old ball coach.
“We don’t have time to do a lot of thinking, we just work you know,” Hookfin said. “If you’re working hard, if your objective is to get better, everything else kind of falls in line. Motivation comes with winning, you know. There’s no better feeling than winning on Friday nights. That last with you all week, it’s not like baseball and basketball, you got another game in a couple of days. Football sticks with you all week.”
This Friday the Tomcats will take on the Chester County Eagles, who are also fighting for a spot in the playoffs.
