The Rams barely missed the playoffs after going 7-3 in the tough District 17-6A. Ridge returns 14 starters and brings in new head coach Andrew Shanle. Watch for Lejuene Patterson and Leslie Wellington to make noise on offense while Vernon Broughton and company control the defense.
Stay tuned for our VYPE Football Preview coming in early August.
VYPE’s “Fresh Faces” series introduces new Head Football Coaches in the Austin area…
There’s a bit of an added zing for those who represent the first high school of a multi-school district. Austin High in Austin ISD; Round Rock High School for Round Rock ISD; Pflugerville High School for PfISD, etc. It’s a distinction that those who work or study at these flagships schools will say comes with its own honor, history and responsibility.
Ahmad Zaidan, the new head football coach and athletic coordinator at Leander ISD’s first school, Leander High School, certainly understands that responsibility – and the added visibility that flagship status draws.
“You know, Leander’s a great place, and Leander High is the original. And as I’m looking out my office, I get to see the stadium (A.C. Bible, Jr. Memorial Stadium) that we get to play on, so it’s unique. It’s the original,” he emphasized. “There’s a lot of tradition here; there’s a lot of history. And so, that was one of the driving factors of me wanting to come be at this place.”
The irony is that Zaidan’s new assignment leading the Lions will actually be his second tour at Leander ISD.
“My first job (was) actually at the green and black school that’s in the district across the way, Cedar Park. We don’t really say that (name) over here at Leander,” Zaidan chuckled.
That first job was at Cedar Park Middle School for a year before Zaidan spent the next four years at Cedar Park High School, first under Head Coach Chris Ross and then Head Coach Joe Willis. He followed Willis to Colleyville Heritage for three years before moving to Clear Springs High School in Houston to be closer to home for a year. The last stop before returning to LISD for the 40-year-old Houston native and dad to 4-year-old daughter, Amelia, was a seven-year stint as the defensive coordinator at San Antonio Clark.
Given the chance, however, Zaidan eagerly returned to his coaching roots.
“I always enjoyed my experience (at Leander ISD) and when the opportunity came to be an athletic coordinator/head coach, I was really interested in the opportunity, went through the interview process and it all worked out. So, that’s what led me to here.”
A graduate of Clear Brooks High School in Houston where he played football and ran track, Zaidan has climbed his way up the coaching ladder despite not playing football in college.
“There’s a lot of coaches that played at the high school level and even when I was playing in high school, I always looked up to my coaches and wanted to be just like them,” he explained. “It didn’t work out on the college level to be able to play there but I enjoy what I do and want to give student athletes the best experience they can get playing at the high school level.”
Aware of the on-field success enjoyed by several of Leander ISD’s newer schools, Zaidan arrived on campus with an eye towards building on the progress his predecessor, Kris Price, achieved towards returning the Lions to the level of success they enjoyed not that long ago.
“Coach Price has done an outstanding job building this place up and, you know, every year every coach has to continue to build their culture and develop their football players. And so, right now, this team is ready to compete at a high level.
“We’ve had some good practices so far and the players have a good mindset. They are energetic, they’re excited about the season; they’re excited about me coming in as the new head coach. We’ve been able to hire a few other coaches as well but a lot of the coaching staff is still intact, and that’s for good reason as well because they know the players; the players trust them as coaches and so there’s a lot of continuity that’s been happening since they have been building up the culture.”
One thing that will help is the completion of a long-running construction project, essentially adding a brand-new athletic wing to the oldest high school in Leander ISD. It’s something Zaidan agreed would add to the sense of renewal.
“The kids were able to come into the athletic wing the first week and so they were able to see that there was a team room, there’s different colored hallways with red and blue -- those are our colors -- so, yeah. They’re walking around; they’re seeing the new gyms, the new weight rooms, the new locker rooms. And so, there is some excitement with the players and the coaches.”
Even with the upgrades and the renewed focus, Zaidan is aware that he’s inheriting a slowly rebuilding program that’s stepping up to 6A.
“You know, everyone’s been saying, ‘you’re going from 5A to 6A.’ Honestly, whenever you’re at the 5A/6A level, it’s very competitive and a lot of that is kind of the same across the board,” Zaidan shrugged. “And so, I just think we’re gonna take it one game at a time. We’re gonna focus on one practice at a time, one rep at a time and to be able to put our best product on the field.
“And the main thing that we’re focused on this year is just building up our Lion Pride. We wanta show that we’re a pride of Lions and that we’re gonna support each other; we’re gonna work together and we’re gonna give our best effort and being competitive throughout the season.”
With the new season just days away, Leander’s new head coach is eagerly anticipating his return to Leander ISD wearing the blue and red of the district’s original school.
“We just talked about our coaching staff. They’ve been great, accepting me, and the players have accepted me and our coaching staff is the reason that we’re at the level we are right now in this season after going through a week of practice.,” Zaidan declared. “There’s a lot of excitement with the players and the parents and the community. And so, our coaching staff is great, our administration is great, and so there are lot of exciting things about to be happening here at Leander High.”
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