There are certain sacrifices Doug Loughridge is willing to make, but not getting in amongst the offensive linemen and coaching isn’t one of them.
“I’m still not adjusted to it,” Loughridge said. “I will jump in there pretty quick with the offensive line.”
Loughridge has had to adapt to different responsibilities since he was named the new football coach at Class 5A Alma in December. When he was at Class 3A Charleston, everything was hands-on because the head coach was also the defensive coordinator and the defensive backs coach was the offensive coordinator and so on.
The crazy quilt of overlapping coaches certainly worked as Charleston won 68 games, 5 conference championships and 2 state titles during Loughridge’s six-year run as head coach. Those numbers made him an attractive candidate when Todd Dilbeck resigned after six seasons with the Airedales.
Loughridge called the decision to take the Alma job a “no-brainer” even though he was born and raised in Charleston and was a standout lineman for the Tigers from 1989-91. He said one of his professional goals was to coach at the highest levels of high school football, and Alma’s tradition as one of the top 5A programs in the state was a definite selling point.
“The opportunity presented itself,” said Loughridge, who was contacted by Alma officials and was one of three candidates who interviewed. “I want to play the toughest competition. It’s definitely a new experience. It’s definitely a challenge.”
The biggest challenge so far, at least before the games start, is adapting to his new coaching responsibilities. At Charleston, Loughridge was the defensive coordinator and left the offense to coordinator Greg Kendrick, who replaced Loughridge as the Tigers’ coach.
As the Airedales’ head man, Loughridge is in charge but also not in charge. He has an offensive coordinator and a defensive coordinator who handle each side of the ball, giving Loughridge more freedom to oversee the overall operations.
Loughridge’s new coaching brothers in the 5A-West Conference expect to see a rejuvenation at Alma. Shiloh Christian Coach Josh Floyd praised Dilbeck’s coaching ability — Dilbeck was 35-31-1 at Alma — but said a new coach can often bring a “new energy.”
“Doug is a great coach,” Floyd said. “They’re going to be excited to play for him.”
Morrilton Coach Cody McNabb has a connection with Loughridge dating back to the mid-2000s when McNabb was hired as Russellville’s defensive coordinator to replace Loughridge.
“Obviously, he’s dealing with more kids and that brings on another set of problems,” McNabb said. “Doug is going to do an outstanding job.”
One thing that is the same is the expectations of the fans. The Airedales struggled to turn the corner under Dilbeck, but they were still a regular playoff participant and conference contender.
Alma was 7-5 in 2012 and won a first-round playoff game. Loughridge won’t have a transition year where he can ease into the job.
“I’m going to a program that I don’t have to build from the ground up,” Loughridge said. “We have just to retool things and get back to the championship level. They’ve won games.
“I’m used to that [pressure]. If you don’t win conference at Charleston, it’s a failure, so that’s nothing new to me.”
Loughridge said he has emphasized strength training and conditioning at Alma. He said his new players may not have understood just how much he planned to emphasize the conditioning part until the team’s first workouts.
“Our reputation kind of preceded us,” Loughridge said. “On the first day, they were curious if I was serious or crazy. They figured out pretty quick.
“It was a little of both.”
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Doug Loughridge
at a glance
POSITION Head coach
SCHOOL Alma
CAREER RECORD 68-9 in six seasons at Charleston
NOTEWORTHY Won two state titles and five conference titles at Charleston. … Was defensive coordinator for Charleston’s 2005 title team and was head coach for the 2008 and 2011 championships. … Was a three-year letterman at Charleston from 1989-91. … Played offensive line at Arkansas Tech University.