By by Lindsey Sherrill
newsroom@atmoreadvance.com
As the school year comes to a close, the Escambia Academy football spring training season is in full swing. This year, the very young Cougar team will be facing its second year as a 2A competitor with a new Head Coach.
Earlier this spring, Heath Gibson was named to the position of Head Coach vacated by Mickey Cannon's resignation at the end of the 2002 season. Gibson is a 1994 graduate of W.S. Neal High School and has served as the assistant football coach and head baseball coach for three years. He also teaches P.E. and Current Events at EA. He is married to Leah, and has a two year old daughter, McKenzie.
The Cougars lost five players to graduation, but Gibson is optimistic about the 2003 season. At the time of football sign-up, next year's team had 26 players, including five seniors. "We're going to make some big changes in all areas, " said Gibson. "We're going to change the weight program to get stronger." He hopes that this will help the young team be more competitive when faced with the larger, older squads.
Clint Floyd will take on the job of Offensive Coordinator. Floyd has coached for many years, including several state titles. Robbie Jaye will serve as Defensive coordinator and Jason Barnett will work with special teams.