KANNAPOLIS — On Mike Newsome’s office door, there’s a photo of The Bell.
Newsome is obviously a quick learner.
It wasn’t long after taking over as head coach at A.L. Brown, Newsome found out how important that bell was.
The first congratulatory phone call he received after taking over for Ron Massey was from former NFL and current Richmond assistant Bob Trott, a former A.L. Brown player.
“Go Kannapolis, beat Concord,” were the first words Newsome said he heard. He realized this was not going to be an ordinary job.
“I knew right then it was pretty dang important,” he laughed.
Then there was the day Newsome was listening to a Charlotte sports radio show. The talk was of great rivalries like Ohio State-Michigan, Alabama-Auburn, Army-Navy …. and then A.L. Brown-Concord was mentioned.
“Now, people in California might not know about Kannapolis-Concord, but here in this area, it’s mentioned beside Alabama-Auburn,” marveled Newsome.
The Bell Game, which by the way, will be played at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 28, is just one of the things that makes Kannapolis a special place.
Newsome was asked about Plummer’s Perch. You know, the house up the hill from the field where a family has always had that big green K illuminated on Friday night.
“Already taken some photos,” Newsome nodded.
While at Butler, Newsome would see Plummer’s Perch on the Friday night football shows.
“You always think it’s part of the school,” he said. “You get here and find out it’s somebody’s back yard! That’s the overwhelming support you get here.”
Newsome wanted to get up close and personal to the support. So Doug Wilson and Dane Laney, two boosters who bleed green, chauffered him around meeting corporate sponsors.
“I get to put my hand in their hand,” he said. “They get to know me. I love getting out in the community. We eventually want to move here, get into a church and be a part of the community.”
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“We” is Newsome and his wife, Laura, also a teacher. A pregnant teacher at that. If a coach needs anything, it’s a supportive sidekick.
“She’s awesome,” Newsome said. “She’s a great coach’s wife. They’re hard to find. She has to sacrifice time with me but she knows how important it is to me. That comes from her youth. Her dad was a high school principal and those people probably work as much or more than football coaches. So she grew up in that atmosphere.”
Laura was with Newsome when he was introduced in May as the new A.L. Brown coach. They could finally relax.
“The day was a lot of relief,” Newsome said. “There had been a lot of talk all week long about who was going to get the job. Now I can take the next step and become a Wonder.”
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Being a Wonder means being a winner. The school was 12-2 last season and has 33 straight winning seasons.
Of course, winning is what Newsome does. He brings a 93-17 record in eight years at Butler with him. And let’s not forget, he has coached two straight 4AA state champions and has a 31-game winning streak.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve felt that losing,” Newsome grinned. “When you like winning as much as I do, that feeling of losing never leaves you. It’s so strong in competitors like myself, it makes you work so hard to win.”
That win streak is quite an accomplishment since some of those came against Tom Knotts’ Independence juggernaut that once won seven straight state titles. Butler and Independence played in front of crowds of 18,000.
“Knotts was good to me,” Newsome said, “up until the point we started beating them.”
A big part of the success was sticking with the priorities he is instilling now in Wonder players. He calls them the 4 Fs. Faith is No. 1, family No. 2, future is No. 3 and then, there’s football.
Newsome believes in setting goals too, but winning a state championship, whether you’re 0-10 or 15-0 is kind of a dream more than a goal.
“A goal is something that’s attainable,” Newsome noted. “If we get our priorities straight, the winning and the goals will take care of themselves.”
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Newsome turns 40 in October and he hopes his personal win streak reaches that number during the month. He knows he has the talent to do it.
“Usually, when a coach comes in, he’s taking over a struggling program,” Newsome pointed out. “We didn’t have to come here and get the ball moving. The ball’s been successful. I promised these seniors we’d do everything to make them as successful as they want to be.”
That could happen if the Wonders can get past a certain nemesis in Charlotte.
“I hope I can help them get over that hump,” he said. “At Butler we were on that hump trying to beat Independence. Maybe the hump here is Charlotte Catholic. Maybe I can be the catalyst. I think I can motivate kids to give more than they’ve got.”
Paul Hoggard, the coach at Richmond County, once told Newsome just that.
“He said, ‘Mike, you get more out of your kids than anybody I’ve ever seen.”
If Newsome has shaken a lot of hands so far, just think what it will be like if he continues his winning ways and brings a state title to K-Town.
The mayor better watch out. His job could be in jeopardy.
Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4287 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com.