Football has always been a huge part of Bear Woods’ life, so he couldn't let the opportunity to coach Wetumpka football pass him up.
Woods, a Florida native who has lived in Wetumpka for the last seven years, was named the new head football coach and athletic director at Wetumpka High School last week. On Thursday, he met with city leaders as he was formally introduced as the head coach for the first time.
This will be Woods’ first head coaching job.
While it is his first head coaching job, he has no lack of football knowledge, however, as he has spent the last 17 years playing college and professional football. He played at Troy from 2006 to 2009, then has spent the last 12 years playing professional football in both the National Football League and the Canadian Football League.
Bear Woods poses for photos at the Wetumpka Sportsplex in Wetumpka on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. Woods, who has resided in Wetumpka for years, is originally from Florida but attended Troy University to play football in college. He starred at linebacker at Troy from 2006-2009, and earned numerous honors during his career. Following his college career, Woods was undrafted but signed with the Atlanta Falcons. After being released, he signed with the Montreal Allouettes in the Canadian Football League, where he played for six seasons and became one of the CFL’s best defensive players. [Alex City Outlook/ Jake Arthur]
After the last two years of navigating COVID-19 regulations, Bear and Jennifer decided that Wetumpka was where they wanted to be, even if that meant no football in the immediate future.
But shortly after that decision, the Wetumpka job opened up and he said the timing and the opportunity fell into his lap.
“This is just my life destiny,” Woods said. “Football has been my life since six years old. I knew I was going to play professional football. I was meant to do it. But anyone who has met me along the way knew that I was meant to coach. I’ve had coaching opportunities for the last five years professionally, but I’m so doggone good at tackling people that I just kept playing football.”
Woods was approved as the head coach by the Elmore County Board of Education last Thursday, January 13. He was not present due to dealing with COVID, but as soon as he was feeling better and no longer quarantined, he wanted to meet with his new team.
He met with the Wetumpka football team for the first time on Wednesday. During that meeting, he introduced himself and went through a slideshow of what he expects from the team and what they should expect from him.
He expressed his coaching philosophy and the team motto that they will learn to play by.
“I’m so excited to get started because I know what I’m going to bring to these guys,” Woods said. “The biggest thing I’m going to bring is just a heart to serve. I’m the guy who didn’t meet one college coach in high school and wasn’t recruited. What these guys are going to get is a coach whose journey has prepared him to serve these guys who have a dream and to prepare them for the leadership skills and qualities to be successful in anything in life after high school.”
One of the biggest things that Woods’ said was that he wanted to bring consistency to the kids in that football locker room. He wants the kids to always have a consistent environment.
When his football players walk into the locker room, they will enter a discipline-led locker room and accountably-led by the team and players themselves.
Woods said he is a guy who gives ownership, and he will make sure that the kids know exactly what they’re going to get and exactly how the team will be run, no matter what any certain kid may be going through at home at that time.
He considers himself to be a culture-minded coach, and he said his coaching philosophy is to attack. His teams will learn to set the tone by attacking, and his teams will also live by the phrase “Win in the moment.”
Bear Woods, the new football coach at Wetumpka High School speaks with local leaders at the Wetumpka Sportsplex in Wetumpka on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. [Alex City Outlook/ Jake Arthur]
“You’re going to hear us say that phrase ‘Win in the moment.’ This is the only moment we have right now,” Woods said. “Champion mindset is that we will execute in the moment. We are just going to beat this drum because this is going to be our identity. You will see that on the football field too. That’s my approach to the game. … When people watch how I played the game the last 17 years, that relentless in the moment identity is what we’re going to have on this football team.”
Woods is taking over a program that has had plenty of success over the last decade with now former head coach Tim Perry.
Since 2012 when Perry took over Wetumpka, the Indians have tallied a 69-49 record and reached the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons. The Indians have won nine playoffs games during that stretch, including a state championship appearance in 2017.
Wetumpka has won its region championship twice in the last five seasons. In the last two seasons, however, Wetumpka has finished the year with a 5-6 record in each season. The Indians lost in the first round of the playoffs both years.
Despite the losing records, the talent is there and Woods believes he is entering a program that is hungry to get back to competing for a state championship.
“What I know is that coach Perry did an incredible job building a program here and keeping it consistent," Woods said. "There’s a consistency here to be in the playoffs and be competitive. Championships are hard to come by. They don’t just happen. What I do know is that these kids are hungry and change is a good thing. Change brings out competitiveness and we are going to take this momentum of the change and challenge one another to be at our best.”
