Refugio's Jason Herring reveals what his program does differently to get an advantage.
Video: Refugio football highlights vs. Shiner High School
See the Bobcats in action last season.The 2016 season saw
Refugio (Texas) win its second state championship since 2011. And coach Jason Herring won his first state championship in 2000, while the head coach at
Sonora (Texas).
The Bobcats went 15-1 this past season to win the title, and coach Herring is 135-12 in the last 10 seasons at Refugio.
1. What does your program do differently from others in your league, conference or state that helped you win a state championship?
Probably the most unique thing we do is we have eight total football coaches in our entire program that coach every level, seventh grade through Varsity. So for instance, our offensive line coach coaches every single offensive lineman from the seventh grade through the varsity, and so on for each position. It is a tremendous amount of work, but the consistency is second to none.
2. What do you consider to be the most important aspect of your state championship? The most important aspect of our state championship was us being fortunate enough to not sustain any major injuries during the championship run. You must have your studs in order to win it all.
3. What is one piece of advice that you would give to a coach wanting to win a state championship? Simpler is always better. We pride ourselves in keeping both sides of the ball incredibly simple.
4. What kind of offense did you run and how did it help you win the championship?We went from a true spread team the last few years to a multiple run-based offense this past season because it best fit our personnel. My advice would be to not be afraid to change or tweak your schemes in order to best maximize your talent.
5. What kind of defense did you run and how did it help you win the championship?We ran a 50 straight man with a striker-backer vs. all two-back sets. In our division, you absolutely must stop the run in order to have a fighting chance. Our striker-backer concept gave us an extra man in the box vs. power run teams.
6. Which of the special teams was most valuable this year, and why?Since we won the championship game on an 18-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining, I would have to say it was the kicking game.
Jason Herring, Refugio
Photo by Robbie Rakestraw
Character and leadership are both things that we must work on every single day we have with our kids. For many of them, our football program is the only real structure they have in their lives.
8. What is the No. 1 obstacle you face in building a championship-caliber program in your community?Without question, the No. 1 obstacle is the daily struggles of life for many of our kiddos.
9. Who do you consider to be your main mentor in this profession and what about that coach do you try to emulate in your program?My mentors are very clear: my two high school coaches Nelson Coulter and Ed Poehls, and the two men I worked for early in my career as an assistant, Sam Harrell and Ross Rogers. Every single thing we do in our program today is a direct influence from these four great coaches and men.
Chris Fore is a veteran Head Football Coach and Athletic Director from Southern California. He consults coaches and programs nationwide through his business Eight Laces Consulting.
