Cougars make good hire

Published 7:40 pm Friday, January 20, 2012

It took right around a month for the Escambia Academy Cougars to find the right man to take on the role of athletic director and head football coach.

On Thursday, the Cougars hired Hugh Fountain, the former coach of the Charles Henderson Trojans and the W.S. Neal Eagles.

Fountain, an East Brewton native, spent 16 seasons at Charles Henderson where he led the Trojans’ football program to numerous playoff appearances and a region title in 2007.

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Prior to coaching the Trojans, Fountain spent seven seasons as the head football coach at  his alma mater, W.S. Neal.

Fountain also had a success at Neal leading them to one region title and a state semifinals appearance in 1995.

During his time at Neal, Fountain coached a name familiar to all at Escambia Academy in Heath Gibson.

During several conversations with Gibson over the last four years, he always spoke highly of his high school coach.

He spoke of his care for his players and how pushed them to play their best at all times.

When examining the hire at Escambia Academy, it his hard to argue with Fountain’s track record and positive words from his former player.

Who better to replace Gibson than the coach who laid the foundation for the type of coach he would turn out to be.

Gibson cared for his players and always pushed them to do their best on the field and in the classroom.

Coach Fountain is excited about the opportuntities that lie in front of him, and he will continue to be a player’s coach.

Fountain brings success to the table and the ability to mold athletes into talented players that excel at the things they do.

He has had more than 50 players go on to play college football at some level and plans to continue to help that number grow at Escambia Academy.

He is taking on his job with a winner’s attitude and will devote the proper attention to helping the football team succeed.

It looks to be an adventure with the new era of Cougars’ athletics beginning, and it feels good to welcome the right coach to Escambia Academy.

Chandler Myers is sports editor of the Atmore Advance. He can be reached at 368-2123 or by e-mail at sports@atmoreadvance.com.