Covington returns to Huntington Middle

They say you can’t go home again, but in the case of Coach Otis Covington, that is just not true.

Covington has returned to teach and coach at Huntington Middle School. He was hired this summer to be the school’s athletics director. Covington was previously at Huntington from 2008-2010 teaching PE and coaching seventh-grade football and eighth-grade basketball.

In between, Covington taught at and coached at Sherwood Christian Academy -- the school featured in the movie “Facing the Giants.” Initially, Covington was the offensive coordinator at the school and became head coach in 2011. Covington led Sherwood to the GICA 2014 state football championship.

Originally from Maryland, Covington played Division I football at Morgan State University. When the opportunity to return to Huntington presented itself, Covington said he jumped at the chance.

“We loved Warner Robins, loved Huntington,” Covington said. “The staff was like family.”

Covington’s new job as athletics director comes with different responsibilitie. Along with teaching health and PE classes, he coaches football and manages multiple sports at the school.

About 80 percent of Huntington students go on to Warner Robins High School, so Covington said that one of his first priorities after accepting the Huntington job was to meet with the Demon coaching staff.

“We want our program here to strengthen the Warner Robins High program. We want to send up student athletes that are better prepared,” Covington said.

That preparation often starts with the basics, because many students show up for middle school football having never played the sport.

“It is a unique situation, but we let them know that learning the fundamentals helps them to succeed and it also calms fears when you can properly play,” Covington said. “Some of middle school football is about ‘shock time.’ They are doing something new and think ‘I can’t take this.’ One of our jobs is to help them know that they can take it, can succeed and be ready for football at the high school. To do that, we want to get them physically prepared as well as mentally prepared so it is not as big of a step going from being a Hawk to a Demon.”

While Covington’s preparation is an obvious asset to Warner Robins High School, it also is an asset to the student-athletes.

“We want it to be one less thing that they are new at when they get to high school,” Covington said.

“Getting adjusted to high school classes and homework is enough.”

Covington started teaching those fundamentals this summer with a conditioning program designed to get the Hawks used to the environment of football.

“You are carrying 75 pounds of equipment. It’s 100 degrees out. It takes some getting used to,” Covington said.

Along with the fundamentals of play, Covington is taking the time to teach players the fundamentals of football terminology -- again drawing on the terms that Warner Robins High School used as a basis. Everything Covington is doing is designed to lay a foundation.

“Football is the greatest tool to teach young people about life. It is a full contact sport, and it takes someone with a tough mentality to play the game. Whether you are on the bench or a starter, you have to have a level of focus. That factors into success -- in the classroom and later on the job and as a family man. You are going to meet adversity every day of your life. Football teaches you how to handle it, how to overcome it. It teaches daily life skills,” Covington said.

The movie “Facing the Giants” had already finished filming when Covington arrived at Sherwood, but Sherwood Pictures’ next film -- “Courageous” -- was filmed while he was coaching at the school.

“The movie phenomenon of Sherwood came out of the church and the school. Most of the cast came from the church,” said Covington, who attended Sherwood Baptist Church as well as taught at the school.

Just like the coach in “Facing the Giants,” Covington’s goal is to change the lives of the young people he coaches.

“You spend so much time with them and you want to lead them and prepare them for life, always being a positive influence. Sometimes you don’t see the value until years later and then a player will come to you and tell you how the experience of playing football helped him in life. That is the reward of coaching,” Covington said.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 10:39 PM with the headline "Covington returns to Huntington Middle ."