By: Sam Branch (WGAA Sports) –
The high school football season never really comes to an end. Sure, the games on the schedule have an end, players play their final snaps, a champion is crowned. But the season never really ends. It just goes from one phase to another. And the cycle repeats itself, season after season, year after year. I recently had chance to sit down with Cedartown Football head coach Tommy Atha and get his thoughts on not just 2025, but most importantly what comes next for the Bulldogs.
A Look Back
The 2025 season didn’t end the way head coach Tommy Atha had hoped. In fact, in his words it was disappointing. Coach Atha referenced several games that were lost late and should have gone the way of the Dawgs. He also spoke about the youth of the team and the lack of experience in the starters. “There were a lot of guys that played a lot of snaps last season that hadn’t played varsity snaps.” said Atha. “Certainly, we would have liked to have improved a lot more, a lot faster, but with that being said, I think being able to look at the number of kids we having coming back and the things that I think we can do in order to make us more successful is encouraging.” Coach did have some positive notes to take away from his inaugural season as the head man in Cedartown despite the 2-8 finish. When asked about what he was proud of he immediately went back to the kids. “I think just the effort that the kids continued to put forth. I think the obstacles and throughout that, there was resilience with this group of kids that maintained itself throughout the course of the season.”
After the Final Whistle
As I already said, the season really never ends. It just transforms from what phase of planning, playing and preparation, to the next phase. I asked Coach Atha what that next part after its all over looks like. The “down time” if you could call it that. Coach spent most of the weeks between the final game at Woodland and the start of Christmas break in one-on-one meetings. He met with every single player and every single coach during that time. After the Christmas break, it was right back to work for the Cedartown coaching staff. Full staff meetings of performing a postmortem of the 2025 season, a review of his meetings with the players and then planning for the 2026 season.
One thing that never stops is the strength and conditioning. “As far as lifting and conditioning goes, that’s as much as you want to, as soon as you want to.” stated Coach Atha. Anybody who has watched Cedartown football over the last decade plus knows there’s no shortage of strength and conditioning. Former Cedartown standout, Georgia Bulldog and NFL running back Nick Chubb has spent countless hours in the Bulldog weight room following his departure from CHS. That trend continues and the evidence is seen on Friday nights at Doc Ayers and on your television screen on Sundays.
Spring Practice and Beyond
So, what can coaches do and when can they do it as far as organized practices? Well, the answer is simple and yet can get confusing. GHSA has a 4 to 1 rule that allows one coach to do skill work with up to four players at one time. Then you have the full squad practices. Teams are allowed to conduct ten practices within a thirteen-weekday window and then it closes. Not a lot of time for any team, but especially one that is hungry to get back on the field and get back to work. When asked about what those thirteen days looked like and what was expected, Atha gave two main focuses. “You certainly want to address all the fundamentals and you want to go out there and block it and tackling, obviously the most important things in football and when you have the opportunity to get back out there in pads for those ten practices, you want to do as much of that as possible. The other side of it is, when you want to come in and which we have done and make adjustments from a scheme standpoint, you certainly want to see the things that you think you can be successful doing.”
From there, you shift gears from spring to summer.
GHSA has two “dead” weeks that all teams across the state must adhere to with the first of those weeks already in the books and the second scheduled for the first week of July. Outside of that, practices must be limited by restricting the players to only certain gear, which limits the amount of contact that players can have. Teams do have the option to attend GHSA sanctioned padded camps, which the Bulldogs will take advantage of in the coming weeks. Both the offensive and defensive lines will attend the Southeastern Line Camp in Birmingham, allowing for a little extra work for the big boys up front. Back home in Cedartown, practices will be four days a week, including speed and agility, lifting and conditioning and installation practices. The Dawgs will welcome a new offensive coordinator for the 2026 season, Jacob Ertzberger and he will need all the time he can get to work with his new unit. The defensive side of the ball will also welcome a new face in Tae Hammond who will take over as the linebacker’s coach. Apart from that, the coaching staff will look very much like it did in year one under Coach Atha.
The summer temperatures will climb over the next two months and with it, will be the expectations and excitement for the 2026 season. A lot of long, hot days await those wishing to wear the silver helmets and play under the lights at Cedartown Memorial Stadium. Coach Atha assured my months ago and again last week, 2026 is going to look a lot different than 2025 and if so, it starts with the summer heat and the long days on the practice field where toughness will be the key to success.