The saying “good things come to those who wait” is oftentimes a saying that is easy to preach, but difficult to adopt.
But for Corey Flanagan, after years of biding his time and learning the ropes of coaching as an assistant coach, his waiting is starting to pay dividends.
Flanagan was recently hired on as the new head coach of the Russellville Middle School football program and will look to continue the excellence that the program has seen for many years.
When it came time to find a new head coach for the program, Flanagan saw an opportunity and decided to make the most of it and express his interest.
And his interest resulted in the head coaching position.
“I was working with coach (Larry) Gilmer over the past three or four years with the middle school and didn’t really have an idea that he was going to retire until towards the end of the year. And once I found that out, I had a lot of interest in the job,” Flanagan said. “It made a lot of sense from the standpoint that I’m already working with a lot of those kids in the weight room. And so once it was posted I sent in my letter of interest and went through the interview process and it took off from there. I really wanted to pursue the job because I really feel like it would be a good thing for me and a good thing for the program.”
A 2008 graduate of Russellville High School, Flanagan went on to play baseball at Northwest-Shoals Community College before transferring to Athens State University where he received his bachelor's degree. And after spending two years in the Deshler school system, Flanagan made the return to his alma mater.
Flanagan was a multi-sport athlete during his Golden Tiger days, including being a part of the 2003 Russellville Middle School team that achieved an undefeated season.
Flanagan has spent the past few seasons working as an assistant coach serving alongside Russellville varsity head coach John Ritter while also working with Chris Heaps as a varsity assistant baseball coach.
And now he’ll get his chance to head up a Russellville Middle School football program that holds a special place in his heart while also hoping to serve as a key part of the development in the Russellville football program.
“One of the most attractive things to me was, this is the place where I grew up and played ball. It’s been a large part of my entire life,” Flanagan said. “So just the opportunity to be in that position to work with coach Ritter and help build up these kids to be champions on and off the field. And also to be able to give back to the place that’s given so much to me is just a really unique and special opportunity.”
A key aspect for the RMS football program is the development process that leads to the product on the field under the Friday night lights. And that aspect isn’t lost for Flanagan who will now oversee that process while another key step in the developmental process is set to kick off this year.
“I know the expectations for the program from working with coach Ritter. Middle school is where you start to see developments and build up things in these young men that you want to see when they get to the varsity level,” Flanagan said. “We’re also starting up the fifth and sixth grade tackle football league so that these kids will be able to get four years of organized football under their belts where they’ll be taught proper technique and fundamentals before they move on to varsity programs so I think we’ve got a really good set up there for sure.”
Taking over the program right before summer workouts began, that hasn’t stopped Flanagan from getting his players ready to continue their dominant stretches of success in recent years in the upcoming season.
And while there are certain aspects that he plans on keeping the same, there are also some things that Flanagan hopes to implement into the program as well.
“This summer since we’ve hit the ground running with workouts in early June, we started. I want these kids, in everything we do, to have a high level of energy, passion and commitment. If we can have those three things in everything that we do, we’re going to be able to put a really good product on the field,” Flanagan said. “Our coaching staff is remaining the same and we’re not trying to come in and flip everything upside down but there are certain things that we’ve brought in that our coaches and players have bought into with a high level of energy.”
The man that Flanagan took over for is someone that the first-year head coach has the highest praise for: his former head coach Larry Gilmer.
Gilmer retired after 31 years as an educator and coach of the RMS football program and across those 31 years, Gilmer has had the opportunity to make a significant impact on hundreds, if not thousands, of lives. And one of those lives he has touched during his coaching days is that of his successor.
“Coach Gilmer is as good of a guy as you’ll ever be able to find. I had the opportunity to play for him and he’s a very caring and honest man so it's an honor to be able to follow him in leading the program,” Flanagan said. “Coach Gilmer did a tremendous job with the program and he touched a lot of lives and I’m just very excited for the opportunity to continue the great work he did. Russellville is a special place and the middle school job to me is a big deal and I’m just really excited for the opportunity.”
