Tidwell coaches first home game
Pioneer head coach Gerald Tidwell finally roamed the sidelines of his team’s home field Friday night.
The first-year WCHS coach, who was suspended five weeks this season returned to the program on Wednesday. After spending the later part of the week with the team, and watching the way the rest of the Pioneer staff had handled their duties during his absence both in practice and at Friday’s game, Tidwell noted his coaching philosophy has undergone a major change.
“Because of the setup we now have, with these guys being more involved as coaches, I enjoyed my role tonight,” he said after Friday’s 32-13 loss to Clarksville. “We’re going to continue in that capacity, and get better with that setup.
“Steps are being made, and we’re doing things now that we’re going to learn from going into next year.”
Tidwell explained how during his coaching career, he’s been reluctant to delegate authority to his staff, opting to be a more dominant head coach. But the performance of his assistants — Chris Madewell, John Dryden and Matt Turner — during his suspension convinced him a change would be for the better, and he intends to keep those changes in place next season, as well.
“One of the biggest things that’s going to help this coaching staff improve the program is identifying coaching roles,” he said. “I’ve been horrible at that for 13 years of coaching, and I think I’ve finally got something figured out with that. So that’s going to help us, and I’m excited about it.”
Although his assistants will continue in their roles heading into next Friday’s game against Coffee County, Tidwell noted his own tasks will increase, taking some of the pressure of the head coaching job away from Madewell.
“Chris has a lot on his plate right now, with family matters, and things going on, and he hasn’t seen his kids a lot,” Tidwell said. “So we’ve discussed it, and he wants me to take more of an active role.
“I didn’t want to step on his toes, but this weekend it’ll switch back a little bit to where I’m running the program. As far as assignments, though, nothing’s going to change. They’ve done a super job. But I’ll take care of more of the details, run the program, and let those guys coach.”