SEVEN SPRINGS – Begin a conversation with Ronnie Wise and one emotion immediately begins to drip from every word he speaks with his New York accent and raspy voice that both seamlessly interweave their way around his infectious laugh.

That emotion you ask? It’s undoubtedly his enthusiasm.

Wise, the new head football coach at Spring Creek, has made it his mission to change not only the culture within the Gators’ program but also the narrative surrounding it.

Wise, a former teacher at Spring Creek Middle School, was hired to guide the Gators’ football program after former head coach Daniel Robinson announced in mid-July he was resigning to accept an assistant coaching position at North Johnston.

Just the fourth head coach in Spring Creek history, Wise has spent just as much time working to change the psyche of his players, as he has on actually coaching football.

“With the previous coach leaving at the time that he did, kind of put us behind the eight ball,” Wise said. “Morale was very low, and we had to do a lot of building the team back up with positivity, and getting the guys excited about playing football again.”

Since 2018, Spring Creek is 10-39. The Gators’ last season without a losing record was a 6-6 finish in 2005. Along with getting to know his players and getting them prepared for the season opener at home against Lakewood on Aug. 18, Wise is tasked with convincing his team that Spring Creek’s past won’t define the future.

“The biggest challenge has been to get kids to buy in mentally,” Wise said. “The one thing we have to do is change the culture, and changing the culture is to get those kids to buy into that they don’t suck. Which has been a tradition that has been passed down to them for so many years that, ‘oh you suck. Nobody believes in you.’ Just because you take a loss here or there doesn’t mean you suck. You have to get over that thought process and start to move forward.”

Wise has coaching experience at the high school level, the junior college level and the collegiate level. His experience at Spring Creek Middle School has opened his eyes to the importance of having middle school and high school football programs working in unison.

“We’re building a program, we’re not just building a team at Spring Creek anymore,” Wise said. “We’re building a program where the high school and the middle school can finally become one entity, and kids can look forward to coming up to high school and actually playing football.”

Beyond commitment from his players, the coaching staff and the school at Spring Creek, Wise knows that support from the Seven Springs community will be imperative to the success he believes is possible.

One step Wise is taking toward engaging with the community is hosting the inaugural Green-Blue Scrimmage on Aug. 12, from 6 p.m. to 8. The two teams will be playing for the new Gator Football Trophy. The concession stand will be open, and the entire community is encouraged to come out and kick off the 2023 season.

Fans are also invited to tour Spring Creek’s new weight room.

“We have what we call our Green versus Blue scrimmage,” Wise said. “We’re going to have food out there and music will be playing. We’re inviting all of the Spring Creek community, the high school, the middle school and the elementary school. We want everybody to come out and be a part of what we’re building. We’re also going to be playing for our Green and Blue trophy that we have. We encourage everyone to come out and see our new weight room, so the parents and athletes from other sports can come. It’s a Spring Creek, Seven Springs event. We want everybody to come out and see.”