Ocean Lakes high school football
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. – The Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation announced today that Ocean Lakes High School (Virginia Beach, Va.) head football coach Joseph Jones has been named the Redskins High School Coach of the Year presented by Inova Sports Medicine. In his fourth year as the head football coach, Jones led the Ocean Lakes Dolphins to a 7-3 regular season record. The Dolphins made a playoff run that ended in the semifinals with a 36-6 loss.
Jones’ philosophy for the Dolphins this season was to be “All-In.” This mentality involved complete commitment between the players and the coaches. Coach Jones understood that achieving this would be difficult, but necessary. The Dolphins were short on individual talent this season, so Jones knew he would need something more from the team as a whole if they were to make a run for the title. The team would need to be “All-In.”
Coach Jones’ personal interest in his players helped him lead his team this season to have such success. Ocean Lakes High School Athletic Director John Williams said, “Jones goes beyond the X’s and O’s on the field. He has helped create a family atmosphere which has caused the kids on the team to gel together.” This family atmosphere is shown not only on the field by Coach Jones, but also through his school spirit. Williams said, “Coach Jones is one of the biggest cheerleaders we have. He is all in with Spirit Day, coming in a costume or whatever it is, he is all-in with the kids at the school.”
Jones Jones, Ocean Lakes
Joe Jones knows there is more for his student-athletes than football and helps his players know that true character is more important than winning football games. Coach Jones emulates great character, and it shows through his leadership style. Jones surrounds himself with other good people. He is a rare mix of a great general manager and a coach. He has complete trust in his coaches and what they choose to do with their team responsibilities. When Jones is with the team, he is a soft spoken man with a powerful message. He gets the message across without yelling or screaming. He treats his athletes like adults, causing respect to be given from both the players and the coaches.
As part of his character, Jones has done a great job with keeping the level of playing on the field clean. His players are very fundamentally oriented with the way they tackle and play the game. Safety is a priority for him and for the Dolphins.
“Coach Jones makes sure things get done the right way,” said Williams. “This is part of what makes Coach Jones the great man he is and helps him make great men both on and off the field.”
As a result of his Coach of the Year selection, Jones will be nominated for the 2019 Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year award and will be invited to Orlando for the Pro Bowl in January.
The Redskins Charitable Foundation will highlight all 2019 award winners and selection committee members with a pre-game ceremony on Sunday, December 22 before the start of the Redskins vs. Giants game at FedExField.
About Redskins High School Coach of the Week presented by Inova Sports Medicine
The High School Coach of the Week program is a league-wide initiative designed to recognize area high school football coaches who continuously demonstrate hard work and dedication to their football programs, the health and safety of their players, and who make a difference in their communities.
This season, in partnership with Inova Sports Medicine, the Redskins Charitable Foundation has convened a panel of local high school football media experts and high school athletic association representatives to provide nominations of deserving high school coaches for consideration and selection. Each coach chosen throughout the high school football season will receive a $2,000 donation from the Redskins Charitable Foundation to their football program and will be invited to a special event at the end of the season to provide additional resources and training to recipients and their coaching staff.
For more information on the Redskins High School Coach of the Week program or the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation, visit http://www.redskins.com/community or follow the Foundation on Twitter at @RedskinsCR or on Instagram @redskinsgiveback.
