If Mike O’Brien is getting the last laugh with Valdosta, he’s doing it in private.
The coach who was fired at Valdosta in 2002 despite a 70-20-1 record and a state championship is doing well at Woodstock, a 13-year-old school northwest of Atlanta, a program that had lost 24 straight games and never reached the state playoffs when he arrived in 2003. Since then, O’Brien’s teams have lost fewer games than Valdosta, which has fired two coaches in the meantime, including Rick Tomberlin in midseason last week.
This season, Valdosta is 5-3 but struggling to regain the form that its rabid fan base would like for a program that has claimed 23 state championships. Woodstock is 7-1 and ranked No. 10 in Class AAAAA. In 2008, Woodstock reached the state quarterfinals.
Todd Holcomb of the Georgia High School Football Daily spoke with O’Brien last week. Here were O’Brien’s thoughts on …
His dismissal at Valdosta: ‘’When I left Valdosta, I felt like we’d done a good job. A lot of people might’ve had different opinions. We felt like we’d got the most out of our kids, and the whole staff loved all those kids as much as anybody could have. We thought we were successful in doing that, but some people thought that we hadn’t, so they chose for me to leave, and that was their decision.’‘
Recent firing of Valdosta coach Tomberlin: ‘’I understand what he’s going through. I don’t really dwell on that much because I don’t have control over it or anything to do with it. They feel like they’ve got to do what they’ve got to do. I know that the coaches there are good coaches. I know that the coaches who were there who stayed there (after O’Brien left) are good coaches. But I think you have to have continuity in a program before you can establish a big winning tradition. They’ve had that in the past. By changing up, they tend to lose it.’‘
Woodstock vs. Valdosta: "One thing that’s different is that winning is new up here. It’s new and exciting to see the way people respond and react. Down there, they’ve had that tradition for years.’‘
Winning state titles at Woodstock: ‘’Whether it’s realistic or not, I don’t know, but that’s the way I think and feel. When I came in talking to them the first year, I didn’t talk with them about winning one game. I talked with them about a state championship. It may never happen, but if you don’t set goals that high, you’ll never have the opportunity to try for it.’‘
Losing to eventual state champion Camden County 18-17 in the quarters: "It sort of made kids understand that anything is possible, that if you play well and play hard and do what you’re supposed to do, you have a chance to win no matter who you’re playing. Coming off that season, we began to see that we could win a state championship here.’‘
This year's Woodstock team. Talent or more confidence: "I think it’s a little of both. The confidence level of the kids is up. It’s a lot higher than it was because of what they know is possible. We’ve worked harder to get ready. We may be a little better this year.’‘
Turning points: "In the weight room one day (last summer), everybody was hot and sweaty, and the mirrors got fogged up, and they started writing on it. They had written, '15-0, state champions.’ Quite a few were written on there. Those thoughts had not been around here much before.’‘
Valdosta’s future: "Whether it regains what some fans want it to be, I don’t know. Valdosta can be a very successful program. It has been a successful program. It might not have been at the height of success that some wanted. One thing that’s difficult is that some people make runs. When we were there, Parkview made a run. Right now, Lowndes has made a run. That doesn’t continue forever. Things change. Valdosta is competitive and can be right back on top.’‘
His future: "I’ve never taken a job that I was looking for another one after that. I have left and gone to places, but when I came here, this is where I wanted to make my home as long as they wanted us to stay.’‘
