GRC recently hired a new head football coach, Dane Damron.  Coach Damron has coached for 31 years across all levels of football.  He was EKU’s offensive coordinator for seven years, giving him Division 1 experience.  He also won a NAIA National Championship for Georgetown College.

Coach Damron was recently the head coach at Paris High School and had many schools reaching out to him about their head coaching job.  He ultimately decided to come to GRC. 

“The potential here at GRC is incredible,” said Damron.  “It’s gonna be a build and there’s no question about that.”

Paris is a 1A school, while GRC is a 6A because of the school’s population.  This means the teams GRC plays will prove to be much tougher than teams Paris plays.

“The competition is definitely going to be a step up but I believe competition is relative,” said Damron.  “We’ve just gotta get our kids to understand we’re as good as any team out there.”

  GRC hasn’t seen much playoff success in a while.  They last won a state championship in 1991 and have been chasing that since. Coach Damron looks to change that soon.

“I want to spread the word about us,” said Damron.  “We’re gonna get out in the county and meet a lot of people and let them see how things are going to be different.”

Each coach has his own, unique, coaching style that sets them apart from the rest.  The team will adopt this style and become the best they can be at it.

“You’re going to see the same me everyday,” said Damron.  “You’re not going to see me mad one day and happy the next; this is me everyday.”

When a new coach rolls into town players usually have mixed emotions.  However, Damron has this GRC team optimistic for the future and especially this upcoming year.

“I’m excited for this year,” said linebacker Scotty Mitchell.  “I’m interested to see the schemes we run and what we changed, but I have full faith in the new coaching staff.”

Not only are players excited for the type of football they will be playing, but they are also liking the kind of guy their coach is.

“I think he’s a nice guy,” said Mitchell. “He came in and set a standard that we thought we all should have and he has expectations from the beginning.”

Coach Damron has met with the whole team a few times now. These meetings are critical so he can get off to a hot start next season.

“My first impression of Coach Damron was that he looked like a guy who knew what he was doing,” said wide receiver Gunner Martin.  “He also looked like he could come here and change the culture pretty quickly.”

There will be a lot of change in the GRC football program this year.  Almost everything will be different with the new coach and his staff rolling in.  Players will have to get with the program to have success.

“We will all have to adapt to the culture change here,” said quarterback Trey Davis.  “We will also see many new schemes on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.”

This year will be one to watch for the GRC Cardinals.  They will have the potential to win a lot of games and to make a run in the playoffs.

“We’re gonna be a team that surprises everyone,” said Martin. “We’ve got the dudes and a coach to make something happen this year.”