Life Wednesdays at Northside High School are about much more than football

First-year Northside head football coach Chad Alligood wore a tie to work Wednesday. “I don’t usually wear a tie but I want every Wednesday to be Life Wednesday,” said Aligood about his plan to implement “Life Wednesdays” into the football and hopefully into the Northside community. “In my mind, later on down the road I see this becoming Northside Wednesdays. I feel everyone has a part to play.” 

If you’re going to dream, why not dream big and that is what Alligood, the Eagles offensive coordinator last season, is doing with Life Wednesdays. A combination of life lessons, good old fashion man-to-man talks and team bonding, Life Wednesdays will have the football team work their way through eight 35-minute sessions throughout the remainder of the school year. The sessions take place during seventh period as to not interfere with any player’s regular class schedule. According to Alligood the goal for Life Wednesdays is simple: “We are trying to train the whole person, not just the athlete.”

The idea had been percolating in Alligood’s mind for some time and upon getting the nod to take over the Eagles program he knew now was the time to put the plan into action. “This is something I thought, if I ever took over a program again I would do,” said Alligood, who was the head coach at Washington-Wilkes a few years ago. “We always say we care about the kids away from football, and we do, but I wanted to make sure they learn like skills.”

On day one the Eagles players learned things like how to dress for success, how to give a proper handshake, how to tie a tie and how to treat your mother. “The tie I wore [today] had the Northside “N” all over it and the kids were like, ‘Coach where did you get that and how can I get one’,” said Alligood with a laugh. “I’m going to order one for everyone.” There are also sessions on how to properly prepare for and take SATs and ACTs.

There are plenty of traditions in and around the Northside football program and it looks like as long as Alligood is in charge Life Wednesdays will be one of them. “I believe when you dress well, you just feel better and then that has an immediate affect on the rest of your day,” reasoned Alligood. “Lessons on what a leader does and what the word ‘leadership’ means and how to be a good follower, because there needs to be followers in order to lead. We are just challenging every kid and coach to be better every day.”

“It’s not rocket science,” jokes Alligood. 

The plan is to have the kids rotate through each Wednesday for the next 12 weeks. Having the sessions spaced out helps lessons sink in while keeping what they learn fresh. For the time being the sessions are taking place during the Eagles’ weightlifting period but the hope is for future expansion throughout the school.  

“This is the first time I’ve done something like this and the kids seemed to really enjoy it,” said Alligood. 

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