Two words: Leon Douglass. Be careful where you say those words because you could scare off some slackers.

Having a new head coach step into the system after having Chad Valadez for so many years will be a new change for the Hornets, and not just because it’s a different face.

“I believe that this will give us a good chance to succeed in not only football but in life,” junior Will Rice said.

Players that have been coached by Douglass before know his expectations, and they know the kind of changes he is going to make.

“I have the desire to maximize their athletic talent to help them earn their goals in life. I want to be able say I have been a part of something special, helping give these kids an opportunity. And I’m excited to invest my time in what can make these student-athletes successful,” Douglass said.

Past, present, and future students have heard the jokes being made about not only Northtown football, but Northtown sports in general, but Douglass has a solution to stop those jokes.

“Better grades as an entire football team. A better work ethic beyond the game of football. Not only have we under achieved in football, but also in grades, and classroom behavior. Coaching these guys up and making them accountable in the classroom, is definitely a step in the right direction,” Douglass said.

But he also thinks that finding coaches from within the District and within Kansas City High School will make a big difference.

“The priority needs to be on getting coaches that can lay eyes on our players every day, so that no matter what turn the student-athlete decides to make, they’ll be held accountable for it. So many of our coaches came in from outside of the building, so their role and impact was very limited on the boys, based on the little amount of time they had with them,” Douglass said.

When it comes to the future of Northtown football, the ball is in the hands of the right man, according to Kyle Bates.

“Change will start the first day of summer conditioning, and I’m prepared for what will be the most productive summer yet,” Bates said.

Bates must know Douglass well, considering “productive” is one of the many words Douglass uses to describe the upcoming summer of 2011.

“To be productive, you have to have athletes that are eligible. The thing that excites me is going into a summer conditioning and being able to have every football player academically eligible, and focusing. That’s what I am striving for. A summer conditioning where my players aren’t playing catch up in summer school. I want them to take care of the little things, instead of putting them off to the point where they ‘have’ to be somewhere just to be eligible. It takes away from a team. You can’t count on a person if they aren’t going to be eligible,” Douglass said.