Hope High School

HOPE – The Hope Bobcats will be academically focused as student athletes newly-installed Hope High School Co-Athletic Director/Head Football Coach Phillip Turner told the Hope Lions Club here Monday.\r\n

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Not only is academic eligibility the foundation for participation in athletics at the junior/senior high levels, Turner said, he also emphasized its relationship to life beyond the playing field.\r\n

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“The kids have been going over everything,” he said. “But, I’m not here for football; I’m here for academics.”\r\n

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Turner said the decision to leave Ashdown, where he was in the middle of a highly successful football program as offensive coordinator, was difficult, but, he knew deep down that it was time to come home to Hope.\r\n

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“I want to make it what is was; what it can be,” he said. “I’m trying to build better young men.”\r\n

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A 1997 graduate of HHS, Turner was all-conference in football, basketball, and track. He graduated from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia in 2001 with a B.S. degree in human services, minoring in sociology. Turner took his master’s degree in curriculum instruction from Texas A&M University-Texarkana in 2012.\r\n

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Turner said he currently has 50 players on the HHS football roster who have qualified during summer drills.\r\n

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“I can’t promise wins,” he said. “I can promise better kids in the classroom, and with that, better football will come.”\r\n

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Turner said his players are beginning to understand the relationship and its importance.\r\n

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“You have got to take care of your business,” he said. “Football is a game; enjoy it.”\r\n

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Turner said he will incorporate parents into the culture of the program by hosting a Bobcat Mom’s Day and Bobcat Dad’s Day near the end of summer drills. He said he wants parents to understand the contributions of their children.\r\n

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“I want the moms to know what their son will play,” Turner said.\r\n

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He also has begun what Turner called his “400” program.\r\n

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“I’m originally a track guy; so, they know what I mean by a 400,” he quipped. “I’ll be in the halls with my big ‘400’ sign; that means if they don’t do it in class, they’re going to be running 400s after practice.”\r\n

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Not only does Turner use the concept as an incentive, he uses track-style conditioning to build speed in his players.\r\n

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“We will run and shoot this year,” he said. “I want to open it up.”\r\n

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Hope will utilize a “spread offense” and a “4-2-5 defense,” Turner said.\r\n

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He said the coaching staff will be versatile, rather than compartmentalized.\r\n

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“We’re going to coach both sides of the ball,” Turner said.\r\n

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He said the Bobcats played well in recent 7 on 7 action in Benton, where they beat West Memphis, but lost to Benton and to Hot Springs Lakeside. Turner said the loss to Lakeside came at the end of the scrimmage on a missed pass that would have scored.\r\n

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“But, they did a great job,” he said.\r\n

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The Cats will participate in another 7 on 7 in Malvern prior to a Bobcat Team Camp in mid-July. He said summer drills are currently suspended for the mandatory “dead weeks” under Arkansas Athletics Association rules.\r\n

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The 2018 season opens at Home for the Bobcats against traditional rival Nashville, followed by Ashdown at home and Prescott away, he said. Two new teams have been added to the conference, including Little Rock McClellan High School and Arkansas High – Texarkana, both of which have traditionally strong athletics programs.\r\n

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A native of Hope, Turner and his wife, Jessica, are the parents of two daughters, Ashlyn, 9, and Kamryn, 1. He is in his tenth year as a teacher/coach, having begun in the Queen City, Texas, football, basketball, and track programs before returning to Hope for a year prior to assuming assistant football, boys’ basketball and boys’ track coaching duties in Ashdown.\r\n