Retired Starkville Fire Chief, Charles Yarbrough with SHS Football Assistant Coach William Stewart
The off-season for a high school football team is more than building speed and strength, it's also about building character and personal growth –– inspiring and equipping players to excel both on and off the field. As the Yellow Jacket football team has prepared for the start of spring practices to begin later this month, the SOCSD coaching staff hosted a "Character Wednesdays" series that put community leaders in front of players to share their wisdom and encourage them to make the most of the opportunities SHS football provides.
Sharing a mix of highly practical advice and time-honored leadership training, educators, former players, businessmen, and law enforcement veterans brought their wisdom to the team each Wednesday this semester during fourth block. They spoke about topics ranging from how to behave at a traffic stop and financial planning for the future to how players can leverage social media and what courses to take for NCAA eligibility.
"Make good decisions," Mississippi Highway Patrol Troup G officer Dimitri Clark encouraged the team. "When you think no one is watching, they probably are."
This encouragement was a repeated theme, as speakers urged players to consider the added responsibility student athletes shoulder because they are often pushed into the spotlight. This attention can put their actions off the field under closer scrutiny, but also gives them a unique opportunity to become positive role models for other students and youth, particularly younger ones.
"Somebody is always watching," John Rice shared with the team one Wednesday. "As a student athlete, sometimes everything you do is highlighted."
Rice is a former Yellow Jacket, a member of the East Mississippi Community College Football Hall of Fame and a former player at Eastern Michigan University. As a former law enforcement officer in the community, he knows many of the players and their families. He credits the Starkville High School football program with getting him ready for the next level of play and also teaching him the resilience that comes from working together to become better.
"Starkville made me a great athlete," he said. "It's a factory for student athletes at the next level."
But Rice reminded players that there is more to being on a football team than individual greatness. During his "Character Wednesday" talk, he encouraged students to reach beyond their own circumstances and help to make each other great.
"Be a trendsetter," he said. "You are not just a product of your environment. Everything you face goes to make you stronger. When you have problems, take it to the field and the weight room. Work it out there."
"Encourage each other," he continued, "and stay on each other. When all eleven of you are doing the right thing, everybody is better for it."
It's this kind of encouragement toward teamwork and player leadership that sold Yellow Jacket Head Football Coach John Carr on the series. He came on staff midway through the semester, and says the "Character Wednesday" speakers gave a message that fits into the culture he wants to create.
"We have college coaches calling, and we want each of our players to be able to be in the best position to succeed," Carr said. "Coach Stewart started this series, and I felt like it was an excellent opportunity to build our players and do just that. Our staff has done a great job preparing these young men, and we want to continue that on and off the field."
When SOCSD began the search for a new Head Football Coach in December, William Stewart, who lead the team in an interim capacity during the transition, saw an opportunity to use the time to create positive experiences for players. Coming off a playoff run in the 2024 season, they were poised to develop physically in the weight room, but also as young men ready to become team leaders.
"We spend a lot of time with you," Stewart told the team in introducing the series. "We want to provide opportunities for you to build the life skills that will help you succeed at the next level and in your lives after high school."
"For some of you," he continued, "your college is going to get paid for and that's a blessing. You put in the work on the field, in the weight room and in the classroom to achieve a goal you've wanted to do all your life. What you'll hear from these speakers will help you get there."
In addition to John Rice and Dimitri Clark, "Character Wednesdays" also saw discussions with James Triplett about financial management, insurance and building up savings. Amy Tate from the SOCSD Technology staff spoke with players about how recruiters and media see social media and what students can do to ensure their profiles create a positive message that can position them to succeed. SHS Assistant Principal Ashley Parvin spoke about NCAA eligibility and how it can differ from Mississippi's graduation requirements. The team also heard from Brian Locke, Assistant Chief of MSU Police as well as Charles Yarbrough, retired Starkville Fire Chief.
Practical advice paired with a healthy reality check about the consequences of certain actions put risky behaviors into perspective for student athletes –– valuable insight from law enforcement officers like MSU Assistant Chief Locke, who see every day the impact poor choices can make on a student's athletic future. He encouraged players to think long-term about choices that keep the doors for success open, and speakers also reminded students to support each other.
"The community is proud of you and other students and kids look up to you," Retired Starkville Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough shared with the team during his Wednesday talk. "Football is a team sport. If I see my brother slacking on or off the field, I have to hold him accountable. Life can be difficult, but work together and don't give up when you're knocked down."
This theme fits right into the commitment Coach Carr has made to student athletes as he takes the helm of the program for his first spring in Starkville.
"As coaches charged with building this program," Carr said to players, "we're asking ourselves what can we do to help you create the best version of you? How can you create value for yourself? How are we going to hold each other accountable? When you have the opportunity to move on from here, we want you to be more prepared than anybody else that is playing high school football in this state."
As the team begins spring practices with several new coaching faces, the groundwork for that preparation and accountability has already been laid. Whether players become college football prospects, pursue higher education degrees or take jobs after high school, the lessons of "Character Wednesdays" will transcend football life.
