Raper takes on challenge of building Belgreen football program from scratch

After 26 years of coaching baseball and football, Jonathan Raper has landed as head football coach at Belgreen High School, where he is starting a brand new football team from scratch. 

Raper Raper along with his years of baseball, coached football at Phillips High School and Phil Campbell High School for 26 years. 

Starting a football program from nothing is challenging from making sure facilities are ready to  ordering game jerseys. 

“You’re starting from scratch, no one has played football before, but that’s a good thing. There is excitement in the community, the school, and most importantly the kids,” Raper said. ” 

Raper coached everything in football from offensive coordinator to defensive coordinator, but a brand new team brings more skill positions to coach such as quarterback to kickers. 

“We’re gonna try to be a hard nose team, and we’re going to make sure we do the little things right. When you do the little things, the bigger things fall into place,” Raper said.  

Since Raper has been around the game for close to 30 years, he has built his own mentality and coaching process. 

“We’re gonna get 1% better every day. That’s what I always tell my kids because, at the end of the year, your accomplishments grow exponentially,” Raper said. “We don’t have to be in a hurry, we have two years of junior high and then we start varsity football. We have to do all the fundamentals correctly,” Raper added. 

The Belgreen Bulldogs' inaugural season will begin this fall.

“I look forward to learning about the kids and teaching them what it takes to be winners. The kids have been working out all summer and are ready to get on the field this Fall,” Raper said.