JRidge

Congrats to all of the All-District 22-5a 1st & 2nd Team selections. I'm especially proud of my son, Ozen's (Jr.) Elishah "Li Li" Simpson and my former player/neighbor who we encouraged at the age of 12 to start playing baseball. Congrats to Ozen's (Sr.) Deonte Darjean for working extremely hard to receive this notification. Great kid with great character and big things ahead of both of them.

Thanks I'm so happy that he will have the opportunity to play at the next level to prove his ability. Also for all the others who inked as well. Four of them played for me as well as my son when they were young, very proud moment to have done a little something. Thanks again.

I'm a Papadeaux's guy Coach Bear! Lol Seriously i thank you for all the kind words and i know everyone will not agree or even care for me for all that matters but i realize that a coach can be something special or a deterrent. Thanks for all your input and years of service. I have dedicated my time to coach and train on the little league football, baseball, basketball and track levels to hopefully set a good foundation for our youth. Coaching is time consuming as you know and often goes unappreciated by many but for those who lives are impacted positively through your efforts the opportunity for them to become successful in some capacity is greater. A coach should have knowledge of all his players and a roll for them in his program. Some of your best coaches will even help his kid have a plan for life after athletics. When a kid can see successful former players return to their alma mater it helps them to know that they can be successful as well. I love sports and winning but like i said winning is for conversation and bragging for fans and resume building for coaches. That's fine, but give me a coach who can help change young people's lives for the better and a winners attitude and the other stuff will take care of its self. Thanks again!

What i am trying to convey is that if all coaches have to leave home who have invested time in our community, lived here for a good period of time and have ties to our churches then we should know their character and potential.Some people have attributes to become a good or great coach but need the time and opportunity to develop. We often go after the quick fix for an HC but they often leave in a few years leaving the program to start over. I believe we need to focus on consistency and being patient with the winning part as a coach is given the opportunity to establish relationships throughout. If people support the coach and have their kids respect and support what the coaches have for them to do then this task becomes a bit easier. We have good athletes here in S.E. Texas who go off to college but soon return with out that degree. We also have several who return with one and should not automatically have to seek another city to obtain a coaching job. Those who have played in this area are used to this area and would most likely stay. The problem has been coaching turnovers not the scholarships as you stated and our kids need consistency and mentors who will be here as a sounding board for them when needed. I've witnessed so many of these young men commit crimes and end up locked up and no win can stop this. Give us someone with football knowledge and good character to instill values in these kids lives and let him build a quality coaching staff who wants to be here and care about this community. The winning will come as kids will jump threw hoops and run threw walls to try and please them. If you change kids mindset for the better without changing coaches every few years the winning on the field will come. Still in all i say winning after you leave the field is most valuable. P.S. I enjoyed watching you play, we LB's have that certain mindset and i never liked loosing either so i do know where you are coming from. I just think we need to start from the values point and then work our way up to the winning that's all. Be Blessed!

Noone asked you to care besides you are irrelevant and add nothing but derogatory statements at best. Have a wonderful life.

Ozensfinest I respect the fact that you have a right to express your opinion but I am not and never will be one of those parents to depend on any coach to get my kids into a school. My wife and i both are well knowledgeable of the opportunities available for most kids to get into college. We do the camp scene at colleges who recruit the size and type of players my kids resemble. They have done summer track for several years and now do travel baseball as I video all of their competitions to send footage to colleges. Coaches sometimes lie and I've seen it done therefore like I said before parental support is needed. You have some good points but sometimes you generalize everyone in your statements. If my kids stay healthy they will go to school free whether their team wins a game or not and I will still love them the same. What's important to me is did they prepare themself to play at their best and did they give they're all when they played? Also being able to make the right decisions and having a successful life. You're talking to a guy who's won in baseball, basketball and football who has a son who was ranked #1 in the world in one sport and #5 All-purpose back in the Nation on Rivals.com. I may look or sound like your average Joe but I'm not. Be Blessed my Brother!

Winning has a lot to do with character and other intangibles. Read carefully everything I've stated. I would love to have wins on Friday nights but experiencing young men getting an opportunity to acquire a college education is winning to me. Winning in sports gives bragging rights but winning off the field and through opportunities to further education breeds life. My priorities are just different from yours is all, but as a former recipent of a college scholarship and player who only lost 2 games from Pop Warner until his HS Sr. Year, from experience the wins are cool but a college degree for these young men will be priceless. The best coaches build more than a good resume!

No I think you missed the real point and that is producing quality young men who can learned to be successful through discipline and hard work. Sports are only temporary and most programs will never become a powerhouse or even win a State Title. The programs that do usually have great parent, community support and dedicated/committed players who invest in their own futures. The coaches have invested time in their communities and have most times established good relations. Parents make sure their kids go to class, practice and offseason workouts. This usually is a good start to building a winning program but if anything we want young men with winning character who can contribute positively to their community. As the dust gathers on that coveted State Trophy in the end these young men's lives being successful will look even better! Now that's winning.

Ozensfinest I belive that now a days the coaches having to compete with Playstation and Xbox has become a problem as well as kids or parents unwillingness to invest in their kids future through training and camps. Often parents are unwilling to push or motivate their kids to workout. The kids who parents do usually progress more or at least faster. My kids benefit from me as a parent and a skills trainer so they are use to working hard and it shows. People have goes sometimes but don't know how to reach them especially without some type of support.

No not really, Lewis and Brooks were pretty good as well as Durley and Ozen and Coach Smith and Shafer. Nelson was also learning and developing until they cut h I m short. If we can't develop coaches in our community then something is really wrong. They need to be given opportunities and time to learn and establish their programs bottom line. Too much musical chairs going on and not enough stability. Give us someone who loves the kids and our community with good character, work ethics and knowledge of how to communicate, plan, organize, motivate, strategize and be consistent with showing love and discipline. HC have to be able to teach their staff effectively and understand what they need to be teaching and then trust that they are capable of carrying it out. Not an easy task but I believe if you can find someone local with these qualities or potential then go for it because most likely they will be here for quite some time. JMO

Good kid with a bright future in sports an academics. Congrats!

Just because you know X's & O's doesn't mean you know your personel, coaches and players strengths, game planning, game adjustments, your opponent's strengths and weaknesses, how to interact with your staff, players and community and how to manage your players and staff effectively! Also knowing how to allow your coaches to have input and having your players know that you are not just concerned with them helping you win football games but them as a person and investing in their futures. These attributes are rare and hard to find but are some of the attributes our late Alex Durley possessed and used to create quality young men who created wins! Coaches who have kids of their own will also know that kids will often make mistakes and disappoint you and will not be as quick to write a player off when pissed off. JMO

I believe that if you hire someone from this area it's more likely that they will be here for the long haul. JMO

Let's just say God and an assistant coach who helped put these kids names and videos out there.

On Thursday, May 12, 2016 Ozen H.S. viewed 10 of its seniors ink Letters of Intent to play college football next season as they pursue their desires to obtain a college degree! This makes 13 total signings as we congratulate again the 3 young men who signed Letters of Intent on National Signing Day. We are very proud of these young men who have dealt with playing under 3 different HC's in the past 4 years! May their futures be much brighter than their past. Congrats to: Edward Adams - McMurry University Kris Narcisse, Dedren Harrington, Arthur Harmon - Louisiana College Emmanuel Smith, Ekyron Manuel - Sul Ross State University Diundre Washington, Dezmon Simpson, Jordan Booker, Travon Gipson - Texas A&T National Signing Day Signings (Feb. 3): Clarence Comeaux - Grambling State University Jaydon Cunigan - Midwestern State University Eugene Mitchell - Howard Payne University Special shoutout to our son Dezmon "Bear" Simpson who tore his ACL the 1st District game and missed only the 2nd half and the following game of the season. He played with a brace on the remaining 8 games of the season at defensive end and nose guard but will be playing SS on the college level! Thank you Lord for all you are doing and have done for these young men.

Sometimes it feels that it's a goal for some to trash this program. My son's were not going to play for Suggs and I'm happy for the other kids that they won't have to play for him either. The question is will they play now since he's gone and it's no because they have already devoted their schedules and future into baseball. I hate that Ozen is short of talent in some areas but some kids will transfer in perhaps or simply have to step their game up. I wish them all the best because this is tough.

Thank you Jesus, prayers answered!

Ozen's Simpson boys, Dezmon a.k.a "Bear" & Elishah a.k.a "Li Li" are two pretty good athletes in football, track and baseball. They may not have gotten the pub some may have but if you know them personally then you would know this to be true.

Good win Lee, tough loss Ozen with 4 Eras in bottom of the 6th with a 7 to 5 lead. Panthers strand runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Lee pitches out of a tough jam to end it in the top of the 7th. Lee - 9 Ozen - 7

(Jr) Elishah "Li Li" Simpson - 5 innings, 8 K's - Win (Jr.) Salvador Bahena - Save

Ozen - 10 Central - 2 Final

While both Ozen & Central have improved, neither team has yet to get a win this season but all this will change tonight at 6pm at Ozen H.S.. Who do you predict to get their 1st "W" and why?

DefensivEly - Deonte Darjean - (CF) Ozen hardly misses anything hit in his area and is a nightmare on the bases. His hitting will continue to improve especially since they have a coach with real baseball knowledge at the helm. Good student with good work ethics and good character.

Players still have to make plays to win the game no matter who's up. Coaches sometimes get too much credit for winning and sometimes to much blame for loosing. WhI checked ever team makes less errors and the most key plays usually holds the "W"!

My son's (Soph.) P/1B - Ezra "Ez" Berry, (Jr.) SS/P - Elishah "Li Li" Simpson and fellow Little League teammate (Sr.) CF/U - Deonte "D" Darjean speaking about Ozen's new Head Baseball Coach Waskyla Cullivan. Proud of these young men. New Ozen baseball coach seeks to revamp program [Hidden Content]