A new head coach steps in, but so does an entirely new scheme on offense for the Hockinson Hawks.
New head coach Ben Nelson steps into the role at Hockinson High School after a year of being the offensive coordinator for the Battle Ground Tigers and several years of coaching experience for Woodland High School. However, Nelson didn’t bring a high-flying air-raid offense with him, but a tough, gritty ground and pound offense known as the Slot-T after examining the Hawks’ strengths.
“It is obviously a run heavy offense that fits our kids in our school,” Nelson said. “I think it’s something that we’ve had a lot of long conversations with our senior group, our kids, our coaches, to make sure that we were all bought in around the same philosophy. We still have a long way to go to run it effectively and run it correctly, but our kids are growing in it every single day.”
This year’s senior group is eager to win and find a way to make noise in the 2A Greater St. Helens League. With that, weightlifting after practice is in effect while learning to perfect an offense rarely seen in this region. The Hawks have bought in all the way down to the middle school football level as Nelson hopes to establish the Slot-T offense and grow it, tweak it and mix it up for years to come.
A pair of position groups that help open holes for the run game and close them om the other side of the ball are leading the way as the Hawks’ strengths.
“The philosophy in which we’re trying to build is that it all starts in the trenches, offensive line and defensive line wise, and so our entire starting offensive line and our starting defensive line, we feel good about and we feel like those are all highlight, key players,” Nelson said, adding that the core of running backs paired with the offensive scheme is going to be huge for the team’s success.
The Hawks will embark on a journey north to Seattle to play Chief Sealth High School, but after that, the Hockinson faithful can enjoy three weeks at home with Nelson making his home debut against Mount Baker High School on Friday, Sept. 12, at 6 p.m.
“We’re trying to really make sure that people understand that when you play for Hockinson, it’s about the name on the front, and so we’re really all about that kind of nameless football,” Nelson said. “We’re trying to understand that it’s about sharing collective glory as opposed to individual stats, and so I really hope that is what people take away on a Friday night is that it’s not about one individual kind doing spectacular. It’s about every single kid doing their job well.”
