Raising Cain

In the South, sports rivalries are certainly not uncommon. Players and coaches begin training months in advance, fans stock up on T-shirts and shakers in anticipation of the upcoming season, and often a king’s ransom goes toward the purchase of sports equipment. Coaches, players, and fans are passionate, dedicated—even ruthless—when it comes to their teams. Although the South’s most famous rivalry is Alabama- Auburn football, Walker County is also home to a famous one in its own right: the Walker-Curry rivalry. Curry coach and former player, Mike Cain, possesses firsthand experience when it comes to this rivalry.Cain, who has always been involved in sports in Walker County, made a tough transition during his days of playing high school football. When Coach Danny Gambrell resigned as the head football coach at Walker, he was replaced by Coach Chris Yeager. “Coach Yeager had a much different philosophy than Coach Gambrell, a philosophy I didn’t quite fit into. So I decided to start looking for somewhere else to play football, and I ended up at Curry,” explains Cain, who found that moving to Curry wasn’t that big of a change.“I played on Walker’s team against Curry, and then on Curry’s team against Walker. It’s a unique experience playing against your former teammates. It’s kind of like I have two homes,” said Cain.“After I transferred to Curry, I remember one of the rivalry games very well. It was a close, competitive ball game. I had a good first half. After the game, some of my friends from Walker told me that Coach Yeager had compared me to Joe Montana. Joe was my idol, so I really got a kick out of that, that Coach Yeager thought so well of me,” Cain recalls, shaking his head with a smile. “A few years ago, I took some of my players to a combine at Mountain Brook. I ran into Coach Yeager there. He started spouting off all these statistics—my old football stats. He had been keeping up with me all those years,” Cain said with surprise. “Oddly enough, Coach Yeager and I became friends.”After playing high school football, Cain was awarded a football scholarship to Samford University. “It was a blast to play at Samford; I got to live out my dream,” Cain remarks. After college, Cain’s dedication to sports led him to a coaching career and a job as at P.E. teacher at Curry High School. “I started out coaching basketball, football, and baseball. Eventually things calmed down and sort of fell into place. Now I coach basketball and run offense in football.”“I never thought I would be a head basketball coach. I am definitely not a great X’s and O’s guy for basketball, but I am a motivator. I got the boys in great shape to play, which was the difference in our wins,” Cain expresses. “It doesn’t matter what sport I’m coaching. If I’m at home, playing checkers with my kids, I try to teach them to be better. It’s just what I do and how I am.”With Cain’s experiences at both Walker and Curry, it seems that he has found a place where he belongs. “I have a lot of friends who have helped me along the way. The advice I have received from local coaches and former Curry coaches has been very beneficial,” Cain said.As Cain goes into his eleventh year of coaching, he reflects on the commitment of his players. “We train hard, with a lot of emotion. The kids love it. They love seeing my enthusiasm, and I love seeing their enthusiasm. All of the chest bumping and high-fiving you see on the court or on the field, that’s just how we are. We’re in the weight room starting at 8 a.m., blaring music.”This year, Cain and the Yellowjacket basketball team defeated crosstown rival Walker—not once, but twice. “When we beat Walker for the first time, it was a great feeling. Walking off the court, I was as proud as a coach can be. My boys played their hearts out, and outhustled and outlasted a big rival. During the second win against Walker, I spent most of the game keeping my players calmed down. In the beginning, we were a little too energetic. But our team kept calm and played hard. I believe that made the difference,” Cain said. “Although I had mixed emotions when I played in the rivalry, there were no mixed emotions while coaching in it. I coach at Curry and represent it the best that I can; it is my home and I am very proud of my coaching career there.”Through all of the competitiveness from both sides, the Walker-Curry rivalry boils down to a statement made by Coach Cain: “It’s just friends playing friends. We still grab lunch together, still hang out together. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you’re from Walker or from Curry.”Cain’s experiences from both sides of Walker County’s “Friendliest” Competition are a testimony to the true heart and soul of Jasper’s infamous rivalry. 78