Super Bowl champ coaching Christopher Bearcat football
Former NFL defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove a new coach at Christopher
Like almost every high school football team in Illinois, the Christopher Bearcats spent much of the first official week of practice sweating and pushing themselves under a hot August sun, getting ready for their first taste of Friday night lights Aug. 26.
Unlike almost all those teams, the Bearcats have a Super Bowl champion leading the way.
Anthony Hargrove, who played defensive tackle in the NFL for eight years and won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints, is the first-year defensive coordinator at Christopher.
As the players stretched and went through drills last Tuesday, Hargrove was a ball of energy and enthusiasm, motivating and pushing the Bearcats to work harder.
"It is supposed to hurt, gentlemen!"
"That's the way to go hard! Every play! Just like that!"
"It is your body! If you are too heavy, guess what? It is your fault. You are eating too much!"
Christopher head coach Josh McCurren added Hargrove to his staff this year after Hargrove coached the defensive line at Marion last year.
"He's got family in the area," McCurren said. "We talked to him, he came and spoke to our camp last year. He's been great. It is really cool having him on board."
Hargrove said he couldn't be happier to be at the 222-student school in the Black Diamond Conference. He's here to help the Bearcats improve on last year's 2-7 record, but also to help them grow as young adults - openly sharing some of his own off-the-field struggles that he has overcome.
"I really enjoy it," Hargrove said. "This is what I grew up playing football. So to share that passion and love with the youth is a dream come true.
"Life is full circle," he added. "I love this game. This time of the year you smell that first cut of the fresh grass, you know it's football season. The adrenaline I love. It all comes back."
Steven Anderson, the Bearcats' lone returning all-conference player, said Hargrove is already having a positive effect on himself and his teammates.
"It's awesome," Anderson said. "He brings the tempo and energy every single time we come out and practice. He just gets us pumped up even if we're doing conditioning or anything. It's just awesome to have him out here and I'm just excited to see how much better we're going to get with him."
Hargrove, who played college football at Georgia Tech and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 2004, had his share of personal problems in the NFL. He was suspended for the 2008 season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.
Hargrove also was suspended for eight games for his role in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal in 2012. He appealed and the suspension was eventually vacated.
"Anthony has been the best thing that has happened to our program in many years," McCurren said. "The kids and community members love him. He has been very straightforward with everyone about the mistakes he has made in the past and how he has turned his life around."
Hargrove has openly shared those experiences with the Bearcats.
"He talks about hard work and what it takes and he shows you what it takes," Anderson said. "He's got passion for the game. He loves it and makes you love it."
McCurren said Hargrove also will work with Christopher's new Junior Football League. This is the first year for the program that will help fifth- through eighth-graders learn the game.
"He's got his hands in both programs," McCurren said. "I think it's outstanding the kids see him from fifth grade all the way though. That's how you build a program.
"It is overwhelming sometimes because he knows so much about football. Not just the defensive line that he played. He knows everything. He went to Georgia Tech to play quarterback."
Hargrove said he's thankful for the coaching he received and is glad for second chances and to be able to give back.
"I just had great coaches along the way," Hargrove said. "Starting with the Port Charlotte Bandits (Hargrove's high school in Florida). Those guys were always motivating me to be better. Then as I went to college my great college coaches, and then finally the National Football League, those guys really motivated me to always be the best."