By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Athletic performance ultimately begins and ends with the individual player or players. That said, when it comes to a team competition, like football, there is a whole ‘nother layer of influencers in between that can make a difference between winning and losing.
From the head guy to the water boy, coaches and support staff play important roles in athletic success. They organize training and teach skills. They hone an athlete’s natural abilities and get teammates in synch with one another.
Watauga head football coach Ryan Habich describes his staff of assistant coaches and support personnel as “the best in North Carolina, at any school.”
Habich had a plan and process but he needed ‘buy in’ from coaches and players.
Success started early
A high school football team recording an undefeated, regular season conference championship is pretty special. But stringing together seven undefeated conference championship since 2018… well, as Watauga assistant coach for wide receivers, Eric Breitenstein, describes it, “That is just ridiculous.”
Breitenstein means “ridiculous” in a very good way. But it doesn’t happen accidentally. It is purposeful and the natural outcome from a well-executed plan and process.
Watauga High School has not lost a 3A/4A Northwestern Conference game since 2017, meaning they have won a “ridiculous” seven undefeated conference championships since.
The groundwork for success, though, started a few years earlier, when then athletic director and interim head football coach Tom Wright fired himself as the head football coach and lured Habich away from Fuquay-Varina High School, near Raleigh, to be Watauga’s next head coach.
Watauga’s success isn’t just about football… the pillars are about maturity and respect — attitude, effort, discipline.
For the outsider, the almost instant success Habich seemed to forge was like flipping a light switch but there was much more to it than that. Habich had a plan and a process but, it turns out, he needed what assistant coach Marshall Thomas (running backs, head JV coach, and weight room) describes as “buy in”. Thomas has a good perspective after being with the program since Habich’s first year, 2012.
“From the moment he arrived, Coach Habich wanted ‘buy in’ from the players and coaches, everybody involved,” Thomas recalled. “He did everything he possibly could, communication wise, to get that buy-in, from the spring he was hired to the first kickoff that first year. Our guys were working at a level that had not experienced, previously. The level of buy-in he nurtured, the work ethic, what it takes to be successful. Ultimately, it was having the belief in his system.”
It is about this team being a team.
But the plan and process were not just about football.
Defensive backs assistant coach Kevin Yandle grew up in Durham, N.C. and matriculated from Northern Durham High School before attending Appalachian State, beginning in 2003. In joining the Watauga coaching staff, Yandle said he was attracted to a program that featured some of the same things that appealed to him as a young athlete and that he wanted to pass on to a new generation.
“Maturity, respect, the principles… the pillars of Coach Habich’s program: attitude, effort, discipline. It is all the things he talks about on a constant basis with these guys,” said Yandle. “They are not just athletic skills, but life skills, too. He keeps all of that in the front of their minds, even in front of football at times. Knowing about him and his program, when he asked me to be a part of it, there wasn’t much thinking to it. He is promoting what I want to promote, through sports. This is a great platform to be part of.”
Nathan Cable is one of the youngest assistant coaches, working with the defensive line. He is a Watauga alum who went to the University of Georgia not to play football but to study turf management.
“Coach Habich is all about business. He eats, sleeps and lives football. He is very smart and technical but he is all about this team being a team,” Cable put it, succinctly.
Transformational vs. transactional coaching
That evolution as a team does not happen, accidentally.
Assistant coach Phillip Hicks is now in his 11th year coaching, his second at Watauga. He started at the high school level, became a graduate assistant for quality control under Scott Satterfield at App State, was hired to Satterfield’s staff when he took the University of Louisville job, then came back to App State working with the defense and linebackers. He graduated from Bunker Hill High School before coming to App State. As a player, he was a center and inside linebacker.
Some coaches speak family, others live it. This program lives it.
“This program is about transformational coaching rather than transactional coaching,” said Hicks. “We are not looking to get something out of it, personally, but trying to be the best we can be, as a group. No one has an ego. None of us are looking for credit. We are always working together, heads down, working to do what is best for our kids. At the end of the day, the results take care of themselves.
“But, every day, we are doing our best — every day,” he added. “The success of this program stems from the camaraderie and consistency of the coaching staff. Things might not be great at the beginning (of a season) but our people are sticking together. And that is even before I got here. It is a family group of people. I have been around a lot of different programs. Some coaches speak about family, others live about family. This is one of those living it.”
Building character
Living as a family also implies that the players and coaches encounter “life lessons” along the way.
Eric Breitenstein enjoyed one of the most successful high school playing careers in Watauga history, rewriting the history books as a running back and defensive back before Habich arrived. As a star for the Pioneers as well as for Wofford College playing NCAA Division I football, then some tryouts with a few interested NFL teams, Breitenstein brings a certain amount of “street cred” to the coaching staff.
He also understands that the game’s importance is more than about X’s and O’s.
WTW, GPE, TBM… those acronyms are the team culture in a nutshell.
“The most impressive thing for me is, Day One, when I came back here to teach and coach with Habich at Watauga, the first thing we ever talked about was character development. Ryan is truly passionate about that and he makes sure our kids are growing in their leadership. Each of our seniors is leader of a team within the team. He makes them read books and they help lead training. Those acronyms of his — WTW (work to win), GPE (give perfect effort) and TBM (team before me) — are the team’s culture, right there in a nutshell.”
Bill Carr has also been with the program for 10 years, currently as defensive line coach. Previously, he coached Watauga’s middle school defensive line for seven years. He grew up in central Florida, then enrolled in the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1986. He spent 21 years as naval officer. For Carr, the opportunity for students to participate in extracurricular activities, whether football, choir, drama, student government or something else is an important aspect of a high school education.
“With my military background, what is special to me about being involved with Watauga’s football program is our ability to have an influence on these guys with key values and life lessons. How important that is to Ryan really spoke to me,” said Carr. “Football is important and we are going to teach you the skills and drills and all that stuff, but we are also going to try to impact each kid in a positive way off the field. If we can make a dent in their lives in a positive way, great. Same with other extracurriculars. My daughter was in Playmakers and grew because of those experiences. Any of that extracurricular stuff is great.”
Steve Breitenstein… he is the legend.
Working together
How the coaching staff has evolved and coalesced through the years is not lost on the individual assistants. The “family” aspect with a joint mission to serve the growth and development of the student athletes put in their charge is a calling card of sorts.
Heath Tucker is in his fifth year of coaching after graduating from North Davidson High School, then App State. He works with Steve Breitenstein in coaching the offensive line.
“Working with Steve Breitenstein… He is the legend so it is cool to learn under him, to see how he operates. We work hand in hand. He has allowed me to work with him and to learn alongside him. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience, so that has been fun,” said Tucker, who also teaches PE at Mabel School.
For Tucker and the other assistant coaches, they are a team within the team.
“As a player, I had some good coaches,” said Tucker, “but as a younger coach now, I am able to be around some veteran coaches and learn from them. When you have a challenging home life, with a wife working and a young toddler at home, having a great group of guys around you all pulling the same rope in the same direction makes your job a lot easier.
“With Ryan, I definitely see a different perspective, coaching wise,” Tucker added. “It is cool to see how this program is run. Being able to work under Ryan and learn from him puts me in positions to be successful as a young coach, learning different position groups. I have had responsibilities for wide receivers, inside linebackers and defensive backs, last year. Now I am coaching offensive line, learning new things and enabling me to be multi-faceted.”
There is a new challenge, every day.
Steve Breitenstein, father of Eric and siblings, brings one of those veteran perspectives. He graduated from Boca Raton High School in Florida, before graduating from Catawba College. He has been coaching “for 112 years,” son Eric suggested. He coached at North Davidson for seven years before coming to the High Country.
“I was a running back, quarterback and defensive back in high school,” said Steve, before adding with a twinkle in his eye, “I was a lot smaller back then! I tried out for football my freshman year at Catawba, but found myself very inadequate. So I moved on from playing football. Sports remained important, though. Both of my sons played football, collegiately, and my daughter played volleyball. So I got to follow my kids.”
Coaching football has proven a special endeavor for Breitenstein.
“There is a new challenge, every day. I am not sure I would still be coaching if at any place other than Watauga. You look at our kids. They are ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir’ kids. They will try to do everything you ask of them,” said Breitenstein.
Other coaches echoed Brietenstein’s sentiments about coaching and, specifically, the Watauga program.
Weight training is our equalizer. It is our ‘lab.’ It is our secret weapon.
Watauga athletic director Dustin Kerley is in his 15th year coaching high school football, 13 years at Watauga. His role is head coach of the Watauga defense and also focuses on the outside linebackers. A graduate of Alexander Central High School and Mars Hill University, Kerley is a multi-sport athlete, playing football, basketball and baseball at ACHS and was an infielder for the Mars Hill baseball team.
Coaching is a priority for him.
“I love everything about it!” said Kerley. “The relationships with players and fellow coaches are what I enjoy the most (the camaraderie is like no other). I also love the preparation, game-planning, and practices. Your best coaches love practices because that is where you see growth (in the student athletes) and spend the majority of your time building relationships and working with your players and fellow coaches.”
Eric Breitenstein said, “Coaching is a cool way to see the kids. When you are in the school building, you see one side of the kids. When you get out here on the football field, sometimes it is the same but you can also see a different side of a kid, too: How hard they are willing to work. How much passion they have for their teammates and things like that. For me, it is rewarding to come from the building to the field and see what these kids CAN be, see what their potential is in a different light.”
We have great kids who want to do what is good for their buddy, their teammates, their coaches, and their school.
Adds Hicks, “I love seeing the growth of kids, whether it be on or off the field, their growing maturity, or the positive impact we have. There are situations where it can be a negative thing, but we may be able to help turn it into a positive. The impact on the youth, that is the main driver. The wins and losses come and go, but the impact on these kids is what really matters.”
Jason Phelps is in his 30th year coaching high school football. He is also a Watauga alum who went on to App State. He started coaching while still in college, at his alma mater, Watauga. His first job was off the mountain, where he was coaching at Starmount for a few years, then Rockingham, Fred T. Foard, Yancey, Bunker Hill, and Avery County before he finally made it back to Watauga in 2018. Today he is assistant head coach, with position responsibilities for the defensive backs.
“I love working with the kids and love the game of football,” said Phelps. “Growing up, coaching had an impact on me so I want to make an impact on the kids. This is the best coaching staff I have ever worked with, either as a head coach or an assistant coach. We have no egos. We come to work with each other every day. Coach Habich does a great job organizing everything. We enjoy being around each other.”
Among the most dramatic changes in the Watauga football team’s character from the beginning of Habich’s tenure was the physicality of the players. It is just one of the details Habich stresses in preparation to compete.
“Weight training is our equalizer,” said Thomas, who works with the running backs, is the head JV coach, and runs the weight room for the Pioneers. “We call it ‘the lab.’ It is our secret weapon. Freshmen don’t come in physically ready. It takes them a couple of years in the weight room but by the time they become varsity players, they are fit and ready to handle the demands, what is required of them to play varsity football.”
“I have worked with some good coaches, like Bill Mauldin who I love to death,” said Steve Breitenstein. “Ryan Habich is that good. He is the smartest, most organized head coach I have ever worked with and it has been my pleasure to work with some good ones. He makes our jobs easy. Of course, if we do our jobs incorrectly, we hear about it!
“But the proof is in the pudding,” added the senior Breitenstein. “We have won seven consecutive conference championships, undefeated in each, and it is because we have great kids who want to do what is good for their buddy, their teammates, their coaches, and their school.”
The Staff and their Roles
Ryan Habich (Head Coach)
Jason Phelps: Assistant Head Coach/ Defensive Backs
Defensive Staff
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- Dustin Kerley: Head Coach of Defense/ Outside Linebackers
- Phillip Hicks: Defensive Coordinator/ Inside Linebackers
- Bill Carr: Recruiting Director/ Defensive Line
- Kevin Yandle: FCA Coordinator/ Assistant Defensive Backs
- Nathan Cable: Assistant Defensive Line
Offensive Staff
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- Marshall Thomas: Head JV coach/ Offensive Coordinator/ Running backs
- Steve Breitenstein: Offensive Line
- Heath Tucker: Offensive Line & TE’s
- Eric Breitenstein: Wide Receivers
Support Staff
- Hannah Blevins: Athletic Trainer
- Jonathan Watson: Game Day Football Statistician/ Max Preps
- Andrew Wilson: Game Day HUDL and Film coordinator.
