Despite only winning two games last year, the Van Buren Pointers believe they are on the right track. (Photos by Harold McIlvain II)
By Harold McIlvain II
VAN BUREN, Ark.--Pointer assistant coach Cody Hamlin remembers what it was like to play for Van Buren.
Sometimes games were close. Other times they were blowouts. But mostly games were lost, as the Pointers won only seven games while Hamlin was in high school.
Despite the program winning only four games since the 2006 graduate left, Hamlin said Pointer fans still pack the stadium whether it’s at home or away. And it’s something Van Buren second-year head coach Mike Lee has been amazed by since arriving at the school.
“It’s puzzling sometimes,” said Lee, who previously coached at Morrilton, Ark. “The support we get from our community is unique. They have every opportunity to bail. But they are educated people that have true intentions (of supporting the program). They know where we are as a program.”
Hamlin said the Van Buren community and district has provided the Pointers with one of the nicest stadiums in the conference with Blakemore Field with synthetic turf, which includes an indoor practice facility and brand new weight lifting equipment.
The former college football player at Arkansas Tech said he really didn’t know how much support the community gives the team until he left.
“With me being lucky enough to play college football, I’ve been to several stadiums,” Hamlin said. “When you talk to other teams and see their facilities, you can tell they are not fortunate enough to have the community support the Pointers have. You really take it for granted when you see other communities.”
Junior quarterback Tyler Spoon said the support from the fans is something that drives the Pointers.
“The community is great,” Spoon said. “They are always supportive of the team no matter what, and it helps us a lot. The community knows just like we do that things are going to change for the best.”
Playing for a high school team that has only won 20 games, averaging two wins a year, during the last decade has certain pressures for winning.
But Spoon said the Pointers don’t look at what previous teams have done despite being reminded of it at times.
“We don’t worry about the past and we just look forward to the future,” Spoon said. “We know things are getting better, and we are getting that desire to win. We are looking forward to getting the program back to where it used to be.”
Not always the norm
Losing hasn’t been always the case for Van Buren.
Former Pointer football coach Gary Deffenbaugh, who started coaching sporadically from 1985 to 2003, said the Pointers use to expect conference titles when he started coaching.
| Van Buren wins in the last decade: 2009: 1* |
“When I came back here to start in 1985, we were on a pretty good run as district champions,” Deffenbaugh said. “It use to be pretty normal.”
Although the program hasn’t had much success since Deffenbaugh started his career at Van Buren, he said the fans are still a passionate group.
“It’s only natural that the program loses some fans because of the results,” Deffenbaugh said. “But this community still has really supported this team throughout the past few years of losing.”
But Hamlin said the Pointers are on the right track to rekindling the more successful years of the Pointer program.
“Van Buren recently hasn’t been up to tradition in the ‘90s and the late ‘80s,” Hamlin said. “But the kids are figuring it out. But we have worked hard in the off-season. There isn’t at team in our conference that doesn’t outwork us in the weight room.”
And Lee said the work ethic is something that could be the great equalizer for the Pointers.
“Off-season weights is something that gives us a chance to win,” Lee said. “We pour a lot into our year around strength and conditioning program. The district has really made a commitment, which is unique. Not a lot of districts in the state of Arkansas have done that.”
Despite the recent struggles, the district recently hired a athletic trainer to help with all sports.
“We feel that gives athletics in general - but specifically football - a chance to compete,” Lee said. “It’s a work in progress, but we feel like things are on the right track.”
Hamlin said the students are starting to see the efforts payoff from the weight room to the field.
“They are seeing what they do in the off-season is attributing to their play,” Hamlin said. “It’s one step in front of the other. Getting the kids to now they know they can be good. It’s the work ethic.”
Emerging from the shadowed past
Ever since Hamlin rejoined the staff during this season, he noticed things he didn’t normally see from previous Pointer teams.
Players were confidently preparing in the weight room for wins. After years of losing, there was talk about turning things around and setting a new mindset.
Hamlin said the change in the tone of the program is evident in practice daily.
“There has been a great deal of mentality change,” Hamlin said. “Now the kids know they are right on the cusp of being great. You can tell it in each practice they have the talent to compete and achieve.”
And Hamlin said the change took place when Lee began the 2008 season as the fourth Van Buren head coach in five years.
Lee led the Pointers last year to their first postseason appearance since 1999 despite having a losing record and only winning two conference games.
But Lee said it was a positive start for the program.
“The playoff game was a great experience for our team,” Lee said. “But now everything is easier in year two. Expectations from players to me and from me to players are understood. Day-to-day operations have been better because of the experience.
“But we are missing just one piece of the recipe with wins on Friday.”
And despite more ease preparing for the season, success still hasn’t happened this year for the Pointers (1-5-1, 1-3 7A-Central).
“The season hasn’t gone the way we hoped,” Lee said. “I feel like we are getting better as a team. But it isn’t correlating into a bunch of victories. There are a few plays that decide victories. And we just hadn’t done that yet.”
Lee said the Pointers have been plagued with injuries and missed opportunities this season - including plays that just haven’t gone their way.
A dropped interception here against Russellville High School and a dropped pass there against Alma High School are moments that have added up to another losing season so far.
But Lee said the results just haven’t come for the Pointer program - yet.
“We feel confident about where we are right now and where we are going,” Lee said.
