By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine/TV
Tonight the Rapides Parish School Board is expected to discuss the future direction of Bolton High School, a conversation that ultimately might result in a shift away from major sports like football if the mission of the school is significantly altered.
But 28-year-old Bolton football coach Clint Dean is stoic on that topic, and focused on the 2023 Bears. He isn’t fretting about possibilities that he cannot impact. He is also looking to the future with determination. I recently got to visit with Coach Dean. Here’s our Q&A session.
(Lee) Coach, where did you grow up?
(Dean) I grew up in Woodville, Texas. Just one school system there. I graduated with kids that I knew from kindergarten to senior year of high school. Small town life — everyone knows everyone.
(LB) Did you play sports at Woodville High School?
(CD) I did play football and baseball. I played baseball up to my junior year and then finished with football. I knew that was my sport, being 6-feet, 260 pounds and a defensive lineman. I lean more to the defensive side of the ball as a football coach.
(LB) Where did you go to college?
(CD) I went to Louisiana College, now Louisiana Christian, in Pineville. I was convinced to sign with Louisiana College because some of the coaches at my school knew people at the college and that’s how I came to Louisiana.
(LB) What was it like for you at Louisiana College?
(CB) For starters, I was coached by four different coaches there. I also played at a smaller weight during my career. I lost weight from high school and got down to 235 pounds. I played defensive end, then in my second year I moved inside to tackle and stayed there until my senior year, when I moved across the ball and played tight end.
(LB) Where did you coach prior to Bolton?
(CD) I coached at Brame Middle School in Alexandria for almost 10 years. I also coached defensive line for Northwood-Lena.
(LB) Tell us who were some coaches that that helped you along the way.
(CD) While at Brame I learned a lot from coach Josh Mercer, who is now the defensive coordinater at Alexandria Senior High School. I also learned a lot from coach Dwayne Severio, coach Tim Smith, and my coaches at Woodville.
(LB) What are your thoughts on your team at Bolton for the upcoming season?
(CD) We had a core group of 15 kids who did not miss workouts over the summer. When I got hired, these guys where the foundation. Two weeks ago we picked up another 20 players who joined the team, which is exciting . We had a scrimmage last week with 20 kids having just one week in the system and really the kids did well. Everyone is excited and the kids are learning a new system. I’m exicted to coach them this fall.
(LB) You’ve talked about the numbers (of players) going up since you were hired. What are they now?
(CD) We had so many new players we ran out of helmets and I had to order more new ones, which is a good thing for this program. So we are up to close to 40 to 42 players, up from 19 players in spring ball.
(LB) The football history at Bolton is strong. What are your thoughts?
(CD) There’s over 100 years of history at Bolton High School. I want to bring back winning and make the alumni proud. I was the ball boy for my high school when I was in the sixth grade and loved football and since I’ve gone into this career, I always wanted to build a program as a head coach. I was the only coach on campus the day I was hired and we are still hiring coaches as we speak to come in and help this fall to start building this program back up. I am putting six months into three months right now to catch up for this season.
(LB) I know you wanted to thank someone special to you.
(CB) I want to thank my wife Tammy. She is my rock and I could not do anything without her support and her place in my life.
Lee Brecheen has operated Louisiana Football Magazine for over 30 years and is one of the state’s foremost experts on high school football and especially recruiting. Based in Baton Rouge, Lee travels statewide to watch practices and games and has broken down film and tape since the late 1980s. He has converted the printed product to an online website (Lafootballmagazine.com) that will preview every high school and college football program in the state before kickoff this fall. Lee also hosts a football-centric TV show on YouTube, The Sports Scouting Report, on weekdays.