In the three short months Jameson Allen has been head football coach at Lutheran South, he’s become familiar enough with the athletes to look forward to their next season. Yet as enthusiastic as he is, he knows the students are even more excited.
"What I love about these kids is they're hungry,” Allen said. “They're excited to play and they're ready to win this year."
Allen joins the Lutheran South athletic program after two years at University City High School. Prior to that, he coached at Westminster Academy in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. His goal: to maintain the program’s recent momentum while making strategic changes to bring them to the next level.
"We have players who can play both sides of the ball, so we have a lot to work with,” Allen said. "Now we have to build our team and our playbook for 14 games. If we play 14 games, we're in the state championship, which is right where we need to be."
Lutheran South’s high-caliber athletes attracted Allen to the school from the beginning. As he works with each athlete, he sees their potential and believes he has “multiple Division 1 players on the roster.” Yet from his experience, the best team is the one with its priorities in line.
"I've seen how Christ can change a football program,” Allen said. “I've been part of teams that aren't winning and I’ve seen it change once the players focus on what’s important. My team plays as a family. We play for Christ. And I see that in each one of the players at Lutheran South.”