Jesse Hicks has big plans for his Central football program.

He wants to bring former players and alumni back into the fold. He wants his players to be model citizens in the community, and he already has plans for them to volunteer with various organizations. He wants to rally parental support and galvanize the student body.

“We are going to try to build that family atmosphere and get them to buy into what we are doing,” said Hicks, who was formally approved as the school’s head coach Thursday by the Bibb County school board. “Football does that, because it kicks the year off.”

Hicks addressed Central students, faculty and parents Friday between the girls and boys basketball games against Howard. He said earlier in the week that his speech Friday night is just the start of his introduction to the community. He plans to have an event for players and their families later in February. He said he will organize a cookout later this summer for former players, hoping to entice former Central stars like Tony Gilbert and Correy Earls to come back and talk to the team.

“Those kids will look up to guys like that who have made something of themselves,” Hicks said. “They can see what hard work and determination can get you.”

Hicks has set forth with a similar plan in his two previous head coaching jobs.

His reconstruction efforts at Baldwin worked well.

Hicks went 70-24 in eight years at Baldwin, including leading the Braves to their first ever state semifinals appearance in 2005.

Baldwin had three 10-win seasons under Hicks, including a 12-1 record in 2008. The Braves won back-to-back region championships beginning in 2008. Those were the first region championships for the school in 22 years.

Hicks had more than 30 players sign college football scholarships during his time in Milledgeville.

“I’m sure he’ll do a fine job,” said Peach County head coach Chad Campbell, who will go up against Hicks and Central in their new region. “He does a good job of getting kids excited about football. He did it at Baldwin.”

He spent the past two years as the head coach at Dougherty in Albany. The Trojans struggled during that span, going 3-17. Hicks had never suffered a losing season prior to his arrival at Dougherty.

“We had athletes at Dougherty, but I was working harder than I ever had in my life and not seeing results in terms of wins and losses,” Hicks said. “That was a little discouraging. We couldn’t change the culture there. I made some great relationships. But I wasn’t discouraged enough to just leave. The opportunity to coach at Central, a place I’ve admired for years, was too much to pass up.”

Hicks has coached with two Central graduates, and both raved about the talent base at Central. For at least the past five years, Hicks would speak openly to some about his admiration for the Central job and for his desire to work in Bibb County. Hicks had at least some interest in both the Howard and Rutland jobs, those close to him say, when they were open back in 2008. But his eyes always drifted back to Central, which at the time was coached by Anthony Hines. When Hines stepped down this past August, Hicks’ interest piqued once again.

“When you watch them, they’ve always had great athletes,” Hicks said. “There is a spirit to this school and a great tradition. I’ve coached with Central guys, and they’ve always talked about the potential. … Macon has always been a draw for me. It’s a progressive town. People care in this community, especially about education. I think we can make them care about football.”

For all the barbecues and meet-and-greet and charity events he has planned, Hicks knows his teams will have to be on the winning side of the scoreboard to prove his “Central can again be a football power” hypothesis.

To that point, Hicks believes the best way to get those groups to buy in is with success and, more specifically, with a win over Westside to start the season. Westside never has lost to a fellow Bibb County team, going 10-0 against Central and 20-0 overall in the county.

“It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be about our mentality and how our kids perceive themselves and how we get them ready from this point to our first game,” Hicks said. “I really like (Westside head coach Sheddrick Risper), and I mean no disrespect, but I think that ‘W’ against Westside will do a lot for our kids and put a feather in our cap, not just for our kids, but for the school, the alumni and community in the center of Macon.”