By Bobby Mathews, Sports Editor
CLAY — The Moody High School Blue Devils looked at home during spring drills, even though the location was unfamiliar.
The Blue Devils have been displaced this spring due to improvements to their football field, where grass has been torn up and is being replaced with artificial turf. Instead, they practiced at a nearby location — Clay-Chalkville High School on several days this spring.
Clay-Chalkville welcomed the Moody players in over the early practice season, allowing the Blue Devils on the field around 4 p.m. on the days they bused over.
“It’s been kind of a long process,” Clay-Chalkville head coach Drew Gilmer said. “I’ve known Jake (Ganus, Moody’s head coach) since he was at Thompson and then he got the job there at Moody. Long story short, my father-in-law is the president of the school board over there in St. Clair County, so there was that connection there.”
Gilmer offered Ganus any help he needed when the former UAB and University of Georgia linebacker took over the Blue Devils’ program. So when it was evident that the current Moody facilities wouldn’t be sufficient to run spring practices for a roster that has ballooned to more than 100 players, Ganus took Gilmer and the Cougar program up on that offer.
“When I got the job at Moody, he reached out and said ‘Hey, if you ever need anything, let me know,'” Ganus said. “So we got to talking a little bit more, and he’s one of the best head coaches in the state so I lean on him for advice on lots of things, not just Xs and Os but a lot of program and organizational stuff.”
For his part, Gilmer welcomed the chance to help.
“We said that ain’t no problem at all,” Gilmer said. “Anything that we can do to help and give the kids a good experience, we’re all for it.”
When the Blue Devils got a firm start date for their turf installation, Ganus knew that his team would need more room to have the kind of practices he wanted to run.
“For us to be efficient with our numbers right now, we can’t practice on our practice field,” Ganus said. “We have to practice on a 100-yard full practice field, so Coach Gilmer was my first call.”
Practices moved fast for the Blue Devils, as Ganus and his assistant coaches approached the sessions in an organized, disciplined manner. Players moved quickly from station-to-station all over the field, without much wasted time or effort.
“They really have treated us like you teach your kids to treat your guests,” Ganus said. “I mean, it’s been really nice. We’re obviously super grateful for him and Clay-Chalkville.”