Boozier seeks inclusiveness

Steve Boozier has always thought of the football field at Harold E. Schutz Memorial Stadium as his Mecca. And he wants the Jay County community to join him there.

During a meeting with parents Wednesday in which the new Jay County High School football coach introduced his coaching staff, Boozier said all fans would be invited to midfield with the team after each home game.

"After home games ... people just kind of congregate out in the middle (of the field) for a few minutes," said the 1985 JCHS graduate who was hired to coach the team in January. "It's a positive way to end the game, regardless of what happened on the scoreboard.

"We want to just encourage people to be supportive of the kids."

Boozier started his coaching career during college, leading the JCHS freshman team. His first head coaching job came at Northfield, and he went on to spend a couple of seasons at Tri-County North (Ohio).

He had stepped away from coaching after the 2007 season, his eighth at Blackford High School, to become the athletics director at Wes-Del. He said at the time his wife asked him if he was done coaching - except for the obvious.

"The obvious was, if this job ever opened up, wherever I was at the time, that I would pursue this job," Boozier told the parents in attendance Wednesday. "I'm extremely excited about being back here.

"This community made me who I am. I am extremely proud of being from Jay County."

Boozier also introduced the rest of his coaching staff, most of which was approved by the Jay School Board at its June 14 meeting.

The lone holdover from the 2009 coaching staff is Josh Gibson, a 1999 graduate of JCHS.

He will be in his eighth season with the program and will coach the wide receivers as well as the defensive line.

The rest of the group is made up of Jason Phillips, Tony Minch, Tyler Hunt, Jim Heflin and Bill Saxman.

Phillips is a 1990 JCHS graduate who spent two years as the JCHS freshman coach and has also coached football at West Jay Middle School. He will coach the offensive and defensive lines.

Hunt and Heflin are both 2003 Blackford graduates who played under Boozier in high school. Hunt, who was an assistant last season at Wes-Del, will work with Phillips on the offensive line and lead the linebackers. Heflin will work with the running backs and defensive backs.

Minch and Saxman, both JCHS graduates, will coach the freshman team.

Boozier said he will call the offensive plays and will collaborate with Hunt and Phillips on calling the defense.

"Obviously I was looking for people that were good people to begin with; secondly, that knew the game of football; and then finally they were familiar with what we were going to do," said Boozier of his staff. "They had to be good people for us to even consider them. That was the main thing."

He said he would invite others to work with the program at times on a volunteer basis. Among those people he included Butch Gray, who coached the JCHS football team from 1992-96 and now heads up the boys and girls golf teams, as someone who would be welcome to help at practice any time.

Fielding questions from parents, Boozier noted that Jay County will definitely have a freshman team. He said he plans to have all ninth graders play a full freshman schedule before moving up to practice or play at the junior varsity or varsity levels.

He also said anyone is welcome to observe practice any time.

"The biggest thing is, we spend a lot of time with those kids ... and we want the parents to be able to come out there and see what is going on," he said. "It goes back to wanting to build a positive relationship. The parents are welcomed. We want them to feel like part of the program. Being a parent myself, there is nothing more important in your life than your kids."[[In-content Ad]]