The annual football media day for Ardmore, Clements, East Limestone, Elkmont, Tanner, and West Limestone, was held Thursday, July 28, at the Athens Recreation Center.
“This is the unofficial kickoff of the football season, you know, so everybody was excited just to be there,” Elkmont’s head coach Chris Bunio said. “It makes the kids feel honored and special to be there, and I know they took pride in being there and answering questions about their team.”
Each team was represented by their head varsity football coach as well as players of the coaches choosing that they felt best represented the character of their own programs.
For example, Elkmont was represented by their second year head coach, Bunio, who brought with him his starting quarterback Cole Holt and senior defensive end Matthew Johnson.
“I know how hard they have been working all summer, and those two really deserved the attention they got,” Bunio said. “This was actually their second media day, they both went to the one last year, so they had a better understanding of what was going to happen this time around.”
The team representatives were given a sizable lunch before they arrived at their respective school booths for a round of questioning from various media members in attendance.
“It is always good to be able to talk about your program and especially to talk about the kids on your team,” Ardmore’s head coach Jonathan Snider said. “It gives those kids the opportunity to talk about the team, and give their side on things.”
Earning the valuable recognition from your coach to attend the Limestone County media day is one thing, but the pressure that comes with answering questions from multiple media members can be crippling if you are not ready for it.
For example, Ardmore was represented by Coach Snider, who was joined by his starting inside linebacker Hayden Durham as well as senior offensive lineman Mike Broadway.
“It’s no way near what it’s like at the college level, where you have people training you to say certain things,” Snider said. “They were both a little bit nervous, we talked about it on the ride down, but it was good for them to get the sense that they are true leaders of the team.”
The head coaches would end up being the main target of most of the questions on the day, as they had to handle questions about their team and the season that is right around the corner.
“You always want to try and promote your program to the best of your ability anytime you get the chance as the head coach,” Snider said. “The program really has nothing to do with me, so it gives us the chance to tell people about what the kids have been doing, because they are really what the program is about.”