The Livingston Lions have endured their share of defensive struggles on the gridiron. They surrendered an average of 40 points per game last season, while never scoring more than 24 in a game. A new staff, including head coach and coordinators, have been hired to fix the issues. The defense will be led by a coaching veteran.
Destry Cope graduated high school at Clear Brook. His father was a coach, causing him to attend several different school districts on the way to walking across the stage. He went on to attend the University of Houston and was a graduate assistant under head coach Kim Helton.
“Growing up in a coach's household, you learn a lot of football, because that is what you are around the most,” Cope said. “When you get around other people, you start learning other ways of doing things. I had the opportunity to be on a staff that didn't have a tremendous amount of success (at UH), but a lot of the coaches went on and had very successful careers. You get around people and you think, ‘Man, I thought I knew something,’ then you realize, ‘I had no idea what I didn't know.’ You start trying to take in as much as you can and be appreciative for any time those guys are willing to spend with you at a young age.”
His first job was at Alief Elsik before moving on to Dickinson, Clear Creek, Clear Falls, and finally San Angelo Central until the spring. He has confidence that the resources in Polk County can make Livingston football a success.
“I believe that the kids that we have in the program right now, we can win,” Cope said. “Sometimes kids think they are working hard, but until you have been a part of successful programs and see the way kids work and what they're willing to endure, it is a difficult thing to win. You have to be willing to put yourself in a place of discomfort a lot of times. I'm not saying we are going to win a state championship in the first year, but I think we can be competitive in year one and grow from there.”
Along with experience at several schools, Cope has served as defensive coordinator for 16 of his 26 total years. He will align the Lions in a different look on defense this season.
“We will base out of an odd front, in a 3-4. One of my dad's adages is no matter how much you love something, if the kids can't do it, it's not worth a darn. He might have used stronger verbiage than that, but to me, it is very true. We will have things that are true year in and year out, but sometimes some things have to change.
“I am a firm believer in that you have to play certain things depending on your opponent, and there are some things you do on first and second down, and then when you get them on third down, you might be more aggressive or change things up a little bit. If you can put doubt in kids’ minds, that is a dangerous thing. If they know exactly what you're going to do all the time and they can get you placed as an offense, that gives them the ability to be fairly successful. If you can change up one or two things and make an offensive lineman confused or confuse the quarterback, you can play pretty good defense. It always comes down to blocking and tackling.”
The coach is looking for a group that is physical.
“I tell the kids all the time that the American game of football is the last bastion of hope for men. It is still OK to be violent out there. Monday from when the first bell rings to Friday until the last bill rings, if you knock the hell out of somebody in the hallway, all the principals and all the teachers are going to be mad at you. If you do it on a Friday night, they will cheer for you.”
Cope will lead the boys track team in the spring, something he says he is always excited about. He will also be able to coach athletics in both the junior high and high school.
“The kids get to see you in a different light and you get to be around another group of kids (in the spring). Sometimes, that is a great way for them to learn who you really are, especially when during football season you are rolling. You kind of have down time (in the spring) to be around the kids and have different interactions with them. Other sports can lend themselves to being at a different pace.”
Impressed with the facilities at Livingston, Cope says, along with the ability to also coach at the junior high, that demonstrates the district's desire to be successful in athletics.
“At San Angelo, we were kind of on the same schedule. That just shows the people who are making the decisions have a commitment to wanting to be good. You get here and you see the facilities – the basketball gym is phenomenal, baseball and softball is phenomenal, the weight room – and when the football stadium is done I think it is going to be phenomenal. When people are pouring into those things you know that it is a place where they care and they want to be good, and they want it to be special for the kids. It shows that their heart is in the right place.”
