It’s widely accepted that when an athlete makes the switch from one level of play to the next, the transition can be difficult. The jump from high school level play to college level can prove to be as difficult as the bump from collegiate play to the professional level. But what about when the transition involves not a student athlete, but a coach? A coach with 26 years high school coaching experience, one of the best records in the history of Mississippi football, and numerous “coach of the year” awards will find himself making the bump this year for the Northwest Rangers football program.

Late in 2007 Northwest picked up nationally-accredited Ricky Woods for the head coaching position of the Ranger football squad. Coach Woods is known for his consistency on and off the field for getting the best out of what he gets.

Give him a talented team like South Panola, and he’ll give you a 74-1 record over five years. Give him a struggling team from Bainbridge, GA., and within a year he’ll post a 9-4 record as opposed to the team’s previous record of 5-6.

It seems Woods has perfected the art of perfecting a team, and the Northwest Rangers have already begun their road to perfection earlier this year.

Woods spent a year in Georgia turning down various high school coaching positions until the Northwest job became available.

Woods says, “It’s hard to turn down a collegiate coaching job, especially for a school like Northwest. Northwest has always had a great football program. I love Mississippi. I’ve been here all my life and it’s just a great place to be. It also makes for a great place to coach.”

When asked about what he plans on doing differently with this team over some of his high school teams, Woods seemed relaxed in saying that it’s all the same. Woods went on to talk about how if you manage a team properly and bring out the best in each athlete it doesn’t matter what level of ball you’re playing, you’re going to get results.

“There are things you’re going to do with every team you coach. You have to work out, you have to go to class, and there has to be a relationship with every player. But, for Northwest our main goal is to take back the district. We have tons of great players in this district and we want them here at Northwest. And if we don’t get them, well we need to beat whoever they play for.”

Woods says the biggest difference in high school and collegiate football has to be the play schemes. “I’ve got two talented coaches handling my offense and my defense. They know what they have to do. For me the biggest change is we are going to be passing more than I’m used to, but it’s necessary for success at this level of play.”

With 19 years of high school head coaching experience, Woods seems to have learned the formula for success that should be applicable to the collegiate level. With a 213-43 career record, he must be doing something right.