Photo by James Nicholas.
Briarwood’s Matthew Forester talks with his defense during a game against Ramsay High School on Oct. 19, at Lawson Field in Birmingham. Forester will continue the coordinate the defense even as the new head coach.
New Briarwood Christian School head football coach Matthew Forester is still adjusting to his new normal.
Forester was announced as legendary coach Fred Yancey’s successor Dec. 26, meaning his daily routine changed significantly during the second semester of the recently completed school year.
Most days started early, with Forester opening the football weight room at 6:30 a.m. to a group of players. He would then run home and take a quick shower before returning to school to teach his classes the first four periods ofthe day.
Then there are regular lunch meetings and a now-constant flood of emails to tend to. And that’s all before spring football activities in the afternoon.
“The hardest part is getting the emails and texts, but you’re constantly around people,” Forester said in mid-April. “That’s been a transition, is the amount of stuff that comes in on your phone and kind of learning howto handle.”
Forester led the Lions through a conditioning program three times a week before beginning spring practice May 6. The Lions then concluded the spring with a game against Sylacauga on May 17.
“We’ll get cranking, and I can’t wait to just start coaching and getting to be around the boys every day. It’s going to be fun,” Forester said.
Forester said Yancey has been more than willing to offer advice when asked, but he has otherwise allowed Forester to settle into his new role.
Now, it’s time for Forester to begin making his mark on the Lions program.
KEEPING THE CORE VALUES
The Briarwood football program has an impeccable reputation, thanks to Yancey’s 29 years of building teams that were not only talented and well-coached, but also greatly respected by rivals.
Forester played for Yancey for two of those seasons, in 1997 and 1998 as a star linebacker. He helped lead the Lions to a 15-0 mark and a Class 3A state championship as a senior.
He is cognizant of the program’s credibility and hopes to maintain the same high standards as the Lions’ new head coach. During the winter, he sat down with offensive coordinator Bobby Kerley and made a list of answers to the question, “What makes Briarwood special?”
“We just wrote down as many things as we could think of,” Forester said. “I’ve tried to take those down to the pillars: what are the core things of Briarwood football and the school itself?”
Those pillars will remain, even if the approach changes slightly.
“If we can keep the core foundation the same, I might use different words, but it’s the same meaning,” Forester said.
BUILDING A SCHEME
Forester firmly believes in the adage, “Don’t give up what got you here.” He has served as the Lions’ defensive coordinator for the past eight years and plans to continue in that role.
“I don’t think you can be a position coach, coordinator and a head coach,” he said. “You can do two of the three, but you can’t do all three.”
Forester has relinquished his role of linebacker coach, as Chris Donnelly will slide down from the defensive backs to oversee that group. Forester will continue to call the defensive plays.
“I’m just going to float and help where needed and coordinate stuff, because that’s still what I enjoy,” Forester said.
Photo by Kamp Fender.
Longtime Briarwood Coach Fred Yancey announces Matthew Forester as the new head football coach at Briarwood Christian School during a Dec. 26 press conference. Forester credits Yancey for trusting him in his role over the last several years, and he hopes to use that same approach with his offensive coaches.
Forester credits Yancey for trusting him in his role over the last several years, and he hopes to use that same approach with his offensive coaches.
“I can think of a handful of times he ever came over to the side, and even this year [the 2018 season], I think he turned over one time and said something to me on the defensive side of the ball,” Forester said.
He admits he is far from an offensive wizard, so Forester is relying on Kerley, Jerry Hood and Jay Mathews to guide the Briarwood offense for the most part. Hood will coach running backs and engineered record-breaking offenses during his time as head coach at Clay-Chalkville. Mathews is the school’s athletic director and will return to the football field to coach quarterbacks.
“I know there’s an art to being a play-caller and I’m not about to pretend that I have it,” Forester said. “I plan to have my headsets up when the offensive is on the field and pull it down to say, ‘Hey, we’re kicking a field goal.’”
LEADING THEM OUT
Forester said the summer is one of his favorite times of the year because every team has its goals within reach.
The Lions are coming off a 9-3 season that saw them advance to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs and are just two years removed from a state championship game appearance.
While Forester certainly wants to continue the winning tradition already ingrained in the culture at Briarwood, he is more concerned about making a similar impact on his players as Yancey did for nearly 30 years.
“That’s where you’ll make your mark,” Forester said.
At the end of the day, it’s about the players. But even Forester admits it will be special when he leads Briarwood onto the field Aug. 30, when the Lions host Chelsea.
“Being able to go out there and do that, it’ll be a cool moment,” he said.
