Today’s interviewee is Osborne coach Russell Isham, whose team broke a 31-game losing streak last week with a 29-8 victory over Forest Park. Isham, who has coached high school football for 30 seasons, is in his third season as Osborne’s head coach. The Cobb County program has not won more than three games in a season since 1994.
Russell Isham, Osborne head coach
1. What was the reaction to Friday’s win and breaking the losing streak? “The kids, they handled it very well. They have sensed for some time that we were getting close. They’ve been building toward it, and it just happened to come to fruition. They were not quite as surprised as I thought. I’m just glad for the community itself and the administration. They’re trying to support us any way they can.”
2. What are the challenges that have made Osborne one of the tougher places to win? “We have some dynamic challenges at Osborne that are different than other places. The economics are tough. We have some great kids. Our numbers have been down but are in the upswing now [85 players on the roster compared to 56 in 2017]. We’re getting kids excited about being involved. From a materialistic standpoint, we’re trying to upgrade. We just got new helmets. We’re trying to create the impression we’re a real program. We’ve got a 72 percent Latino population. Not many have played football, and that’s understandable. They’re really good at soccer. That’s part of the dynamics. We also have Marietta, McEachern and Hillgrove within five to eight miles, and a lot of our kids choose to go other places instead. Until we produce, it’s hard to blame them. Our schedule is not friendly to us. We’ve played some really good football teams over the past two years [including 2019 Class 6A finalists Harrison and Allatoona]. It’s tough when you’ve got five seniors and others have 35. We can come up with a million excuses. I try not to use them. We’ve just got to get it done.” [Osborne has two starters that hadn’t played football until June. Isham’s son, Lawrence, came to Osborne to play baseball and put on a football helmet for the first time in 2019 as a sophomore. He’s now the starting quarterback.]
3. What’s realistic for Osborne? What are some things you and your staff have focused on? “I’m a big believer in the offseason. When I came on board, we couldn’t compete physically with other teams with their size and strength. I don’t think we’re outmatched any more. We’re a long ways from big, but we’ve addressed that to some degree. I don’t feel I’m putting them in jeopardy from a safety standpoint now. We feel we can compete week in, week out. That’s the goal. I’m not saying we’re going to win every Friday. But we’ve come a long way.”
4. You’ve coached for 30 years and at a variety of places. Why keeps you at Osborne? “I love the challenge of working with young men and trying to create an atmosphere where they can experience success. My principal, Josh Morreale, has been extremely supportive of me and the program. I’m a Cobb County guy. I’ve coached at North Cobb, South Cobb and Pebblebrook. I believe my challenge is to get Osborne at a point where we can compete on Friday night, so they’re not the doormat. My state championship is 5-5. I don’t know if that’s selling kids short, but I enjoy that challenge.”
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