‘Family’ Just Means More for Oak Hall Football

After what coach RJ Fuhr called “a good day of practice,” Oak Hall’s football team lined up at the goal line to run suicides last week. Afterward, the team walked off the field together, laughing and chatting. 

That connection extends beyond the football field for the Eagles. 

“We’re a small team, and just kind of have each other’s backs; it just unites us,” Fuhr said. 

At Oak Hall, which serves students from Pre-K to 12th grade, the 989-student body is one big family. 

“The whole school is close. There aren’t a whole lot of cliques,” Fuhr said. “We have guys that play football, that play multiple sports, that play a musical instrument, so the whole school is pretty close.” 

That sense of closeness is reflected in the meticulously stitched word across the back of each jersey: Family. 

The stitched tradition is one Fuhr borrowed from the Army, incorporating its values into not only the team’s regalia, but also its practices, culture and attitude. 

“I copied the uniforms off of the Army. On their back, they had ‘honor’, duty’, or ‘courage.’ I basically stole it from them,” Fuhr said, laughing. “I stole everything. The uniform, the whole thing. If you’re going to copy someone, it has to be Army, right?” 

But for Fuhr, family means more than just his current team. He is focused on building a close-knit team that keeps relationships developed beyond their four seasons. 

Fuhr recalled a recent text from a former athlete: “One of my players the other day sent me a picture of their sonogram, and said, ‘Future Eagle.” 

“I try, when I see them during the day, my best to even not talk about football,” Fuhr said. He wants each player to feel they have someone beyond a coach. Fuhr emphasizes this importance by organizing dinners and position-group activities. 

Those team activities are working,  junior wide receiver and team captain Bradley Wise says. 

“It’s just a bond that we create in the offseason and maintain throughout the year, having each other’s backs,” Wise said.  

Those connections helped the Eagles respond to the difficulties they faced in the final stretch last season. After four consecutive losses heading into the playoffs, Oak Hall rallied to win five straight games to secure a state title. 

“Family is us sticking together and being able to finish games with a limited number of guys, and sticking as a team,” Wise said. 

The strongest connections come from the time they spend together, senior center and linebacker Will Staples said. 

“We spend hours and hours of our day with each other, every single day,” Staples said. “That bond that we create with each other over that time, there’s nothing like it. You don’t make any bonds like that in a classroom.”

And for Fuhr, that’s what coaching is about. 

“If I was just worried about wins and losses, not only would I be a crappy coach, I’d be a crappy person,” Fuhr said. “I want to try to instill in them work ethic, high moral compass and honesty. I want them to be able to be great husbands and great fathers and great business people. That’s way more important than football.”

Oak Hall hosts Panama City Bozeman (3-7) at 6 p.m. Thursday in the regional round of the FHSAA’s Independent League 2 playoffs. Oak Hall is the No. 4 seed in the Independent North Pool B bracket.  

Category: High School Sports, Oak Hall High School