Nate Crooms once thought about leaving Bayshore Christian because the young school in Fairhope, Ala., didn’t field a football team.

He doesn’t have to worry about that anymore.

Bayshore announced in May it was starting a football program and had hired Hall of Fame coach Phil Lazenby to lead the way.

“I don’t think I would have felt my high school experience was complete if we didn’t play football,” Crooms, a junior, said at Baldwin County Media Day on Monday.

The start-up program is a work in progress for the Eagles, who plan to play four middle school games and at least two junior varsity games this fall before likely playing their first varsity games in 2024.

Lazenby is entering his 47th year as a football coach, but he admitted this has been a new experience all together.

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“It takes time,” he said. “We have a lot of students out who don’t have any experience whatsoever, but the guys we’ve got have a great attitude and they are learning. Most of them don’t know the terminology. They don’t know what a ‘3 technique’ is or what a ‘buck sweep is.’ It’s a lot of teaching, but it’s fun.”

Lazenby said much of the work in his first few months at Bayshore — after spending the 16 previous years at nearby Bayside Academy — has been spent recruiting players to come out and give the sport a try.

“I told everyone I would give them a hamburger if they would bring a kid to practice,” he said. “Right now, if they’ve never been out, I don’t care. This is a progression. We are just focused on getting kids out there, teaching them the game and getting them to understand what will be expected of them.”

Lazenby said he currently has approximately 40 students in 7-11 grades participating in workouts.

“It’s not a lot, but we are a 1A school so that’s really not bad at all,” he said.

The coaching staff is small at this point as well. Athletic director and head baseball coach Jeff Hauge is coaching wide receivers and defensive backs, and Lazenby said several dads are helping as well.

“It all came together late, and there wasn’t a budget for all the people who needed to be hired,” he said. “We hope to add three assistants next year.”

Crooms estimated that 75 percent of the students who are working out currently have no football experience while the other 25 percent have a small amount.

“We don’t know what we don’t know right now,” he said. “We are all along for the ride together and building this for next year.”

Jack Malone is one of those football first-timers for the Eagles.

“I never played before, but I know I’m pretty big and fast and thought I could probably make an impact,” he said. “Nate is a huge football guy and always told me that if we ever get a team I had to play. I had to convince my dad to let me play first. That was probably the hardest challenge.”

Lazenby and the players are encouraged by the success their school already has had in multiple sports. Hauge’s baseball team, which includes Malone and Crooms, has won a pair of Class 1A state titles. The cross country team also won back-to-back titles and the Eagles have a girls volleyball state crown on their resume as well.

“The fact that they like winning, they like being successful is important,” Lazenby said. “Success breeds success. That is not what it is all about obviously. At Bayshore Christian, it’s also about the development of children and their relationship with God. That’s priority No. 1.”

Lazenby has won 200 games in 26 years as a high school head coach. Though he realizes No. 201 won’t come this year, he clearly understands the task at hand and seems renewed by the challenge.

“One of the main things is getting the kids to understand that football is a sport of repetition,” he said. “If you don’t prepare prior to the season, you won’t be where you should be. I’m not worried about being too strict this year. It’s just about getting started right now then next year there will have to be that commitment to the program.”

In the meantime, there have been some humorous moments.

“One time, I saw a kid grab a football from the middle and try to throw it with the points going the wrong way,” he joked. “Kicking off a tee? No clue. It’s just things they have to learn. But right now sometimes it’s like me playing golf – not good.”

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