The Bristol Central alum and 2010 Blue Knight defensive coordinator was formally introduced as the new man at the helm of the Knights’ football program last Thursday.
“My goal in my life has been to be a high school head football coach, and a long term high school head football coach, so when I got that call (that said I got the job), I said, ‘Wow, I reached it,’ and I was extremely excited,” Drury said. Athletic Director Eric Swallow said Drury was chosen out of a pool of 40-plus applicants, locally and nationally, by a large search committee that involved school administration, including principal Martin Semmel and assistant principal Brian Stranieri, community members, football alumni and even a student-athlete from this past year.
There were multiple rounds of interviews, which Drury said was one of the toughest processes he’s ever had to go through. From there, the decision was made.
“Michael presented exceptionally well,” said Swallow. “I think he provided great qualities in terms of leadership and character and I’m not just using those words.”
Drury came to Southington as part of Hernandez’s staff last year with experience coaching high school football in Connecticut at Cromwell, Oxford and Pomperaug. The year on staff as a Blue Knight aided in the final decision.
“Michael provided continuity and was one of the leading coaches within the framework of our staff,” Swallow said, speaking to last season’s success.
Inadvertently, Drury had something of a tryout last year, serving as the interim head coach for a game against East Hartford when Hernandez was suspended. Drury was poised, leading Southington to an easy victory.
“He stepped into a difficult situation where he had to step up and be the head coach and he did that without missing a beat,” Swallow said, praising Drury.
Questions at the press conference immediately arose about age. Drury, like Hernandez before him, is young, only 28, and after an inauspicious season last year that involved immaturity, Drury comes in also lacking head coaching experience. Different from Hernandez, though, is Drury’s Connecticut coaching background.
“I’ve been around some absolutely fantastic coaches,” Drury explained. “From when I was young, going through midget football, high school, fantastic coaches, coaches who are coaching at the high Division I level; college and obviously, being mentored by all of these coaches in all of these sports that I coached at, they’re some of the most respected coaches in the state, some of the most successful programs in the state so I kind of brought all that together and am looking to build my own brand here.”
Aside from football, Drury has coached wrestling at Bristol Central for five years as well as track for three years and when he was at Oxford, he was the head track coach.
Maybe the most important group in Drury’s corner during the decision process was the current players associated with Blue Knights football.
“The players and their parents were very vocal to have Coach Drury as the next head coach,” Stranieri said.
Drury vocalized what that relationship meant to him.
“I’m so proud to have been looked at by the players and parents that way and just thrilled to be able to bring this program and maintain and excel from the tradition that Southington has built over its long tenure,” he said.
An All-American linebacker at Marist College, Drury will also be a fulltime member of the Southington school system in the Special Education Department at the high school.
“I’m definitely humbled to become the head football coach for their school and also a teacher,” he said. “That’s a huge thing for me. I’m going to be in the building and I will be teaching special education here next year and I’m extremely thrilled for that because I love teaching, that’s another passion of mine, too.”
Before meeting with the media, the new head coach delivered a message to his new team.
“I said, ‘Thank you. The support you guys have given me has been unbelievable; I’m going to give you that support in return. One thing we’ve got to be able to do here is trust each other. I’m going trust you, you need to trust me and then we’re going to go forward,’” Drury recited.
Not too long after his introduction, it was confirmed that Drury’s dad Chuck, a coach at Pomperaug High School for 35 years, was stepping down to join his son’s staff to serve as not only a coach, but a key mentor.
On the field, Southington is coming off season where it fell one game shy of a state playoff berth, going 8-2 and is looking to build on that success.
“We’ve got a great bunch of student athletes coming back, so we’re looking to build off that success,” Drury said. “We set the bar at 8-2 and we don’t want to stop there. We want to maximize the academic and athletic potential of every member of the football program and that’s what we’re going to look to do as a staff.”
(photo credit: Michael Guerrera/The Southington Citizen)
