Photo: Bayley Blanchard, pictured coaching during a Glencoe High game this past season, was recently hired as head football coach at the school. (Courtesy of Average Joe’s Sports Talk)
By Chris McCarthy/Publisher
Glencoe High’s new head football coach has hit the ground running.
“It’s a bit of a whirlwind right now, but I’m very excited for the opportunity and I’m ready to get going,” said Bayley Blanchard, a 2016 Piedmont High graduate who played football under current Westbrook Christian head coach Steve Smith. “The majority of our guys also play basketball and baseball and we’re trying to get a few more numbers out. All three of us – me, (head baseball coach) Dylan Terry and (head boys basketball coach) Ryan Chambless – are all on the same page with wanting all our guys to play different sports and how we conduct our workouts. We’ll do some install stuff in the spring and adjust our practices to how many guys we’ve got out.”
Blanchard replaces Scott Martin, who stepped down last month after three seasons. Blanchard arrived at Glencoe as an assistant football, basketball and baseball coach in 2022, the same year that Martin was hired as the school’s head football coach. Blanchard served as Martin’s defensive coordinator this past season.
“The main thing with Coach Martin is that he is such a great offensive line coach,” said Blanchard. “I learned so much from him about teaching types of blocks and how to adjust to certain defensive fronts. He’s done this for 40 years, so he has a lot of wisdom to share.”
Although the Yellow Jacket varsity has struggled of late with a 17-73 record and no playoff appearances over the past eight seasons, Blanchard sees improvement on the horizon with a talented core of youngsters.
“Our junior varsity, which I coached, went 6-2 last year, and that’s our freshman class right now. It’s a great group of kids that works very hard. The big thing with them is that their effort is always 100 percent. We’re very excited about our eight and ninth grade classes. They might not be as genetically gifted as some other teams right now because they’re so young, but most times they give the better effort.”
Blanchard, who currently teaches U.S. History at the high school, shared a few short-term goals he has for the program, starting with a change of mentality.
“In the first year, if I can get these kids to take it one snap at a time and have them think that they’re going to win every single play, I think we’ll be in a better position to be in a lot more games.”
Blanchard also wants his players to represent the school well.
“We have to be mindful of how we treat people, both here in the locker room and up at the school. We want our guys to be leaders on the field and in the classroom. It’s all about the kids, which is why I wanted to coach high school football to help these kids in life.”
The Yellow Jackets will need all the wins they can get while competing in the rugged Class 3A Region 6, which includes Westbrook Christian, Piedmont, Locust Fork, Weaver, Ohat-chee, J.B. Pennington, Walter Wellborn and Saks.
“It’s a very tough region, no doubt,” said Blanchard. “But no matter how bad of a season it was the year before, the goal is always to win a state championship. That’s what you play for. If we can instill that in the players’ mindset, I think it will make them work harder and hopefully in turn will get us a few more wins and get us into the playoffs.”
Blanchard can certainly speak to his players on being a part of a winning program. During his varsity football career at Piedmont, the Bulldogs went 44-8, including a 26-2 record in region play. Piedmont went 15-0 and won the Class 3A state championship in Blanchard’s senior season of 2014. Playing at safety before switching to receiver prior to his senior year, Blanchard was an all-state, all-area and all-county selection. He also played basketball and baseball. GHS head baseball coach Dylan Terry was a senior at Piedmont when Blanchard as a freshman.
“I was fortunate to play with a lot of good guys,” said Blanchard. “Our O-line was amazing and our defense just flew to the football. Plus, we were a really close and tight-knit group.”
Among the many lessons Blanchard learned while playing under Smith were discipline and attention to detail.
“Coach Smith is the most organized person I’ve ever been around in my life. He’s a routine guy, he’s by the book and he likes to take care of things ahead of time, so he’s a good example in those areas. But he’s always been a players’ coach who showed us the right way to treat people. He cares about you as a person above anything else.”
Blanchard’s dad James was Smith’s defensive coordinator at both Piedmont and Westbrook Christian. James passed away earlier this year after a battle with cancer.
“My dad is the reason I chose to get in to coaching. I grew up my whole life in a field house with him, and I loved it. I saw the positive impact he had on so many of his players, and I saw the way that they became family. So many of my greatest memories were shared with him on a football field, basketball court or a baseball field. He truly was a legend, not only for his success he had as a coach but the way that he helped raise boys into men. He was a hard-nosed, old-school style coach, but he loved his players. His goals were always to build the kingdom of Heaven, raise great men in society with a great work ethic and win. I love and miss him every day.”
Blanchard earned a football scholarship to the University of West Alabama, where he was a three-time member of the All-Gulf South Conference team and All-Academic team. Blan-chard finished his career as the Tigers’ second all-time leading receiver with 151 receptions for 2,027 yards and 17 touchdowns.
“When the [UWA] coaches told me that they liked to throw the ball about 40 times a game, I said, ‘Where do I sign?” he said with a laugh. “We didn’t have to throw the ball a lot at Piedmont because our offensive line was so dominant. We just had to throw the ball as needed. I think the most receptions I had in a high school game was six. When I got to college, I was catching 10 or 11 balls a game, so that was pretty awesome.”
Blanchard acknowledged the support of the Glencoe community in filling up the home side of Wilson-Darnell Stadium regardless of the team’s win/loss record.
“As a player at Piedmont, I always admired how good of a community Glencoe always had. And when I got here a few years, ago, it was always, ‘What can I do to help?’ That kind of support goes a long way in a small town. Just over the last few weeks since I was hired, I’ve had so many people reaching out to help, whether it is nutrition stuff or helping get stuff the weight room. It’s a great community, for sure.”
