Submitted photo Rotarians Phillips Kolsun, left, and Davis Trust Company’s Hoy Ferguson, right, welcomed EHS head football coach Chad Ware to the Elkins Rotary Club’s weekly meeting.

Elkins High School head football coach Chad Ware recently spoke with the Rotary Club of Elkins at about the team and the team’s #AsOne concept.

In addition to coaching the EHS football team, Ware currently serves as the physician and community liaison for Davis Medical Center/Vandalia Health and is connections pastor at Summit Church in Elkins.

Ware was named head coach at EHS in February 2024 and is looking forward to his second year at the helm. Prior to that time, Ware served as an assistant coach from 1995 – 2010, moving to the broadcast booth for approximately 11 years. At that time, Ware stepped away from the sports arena to support his son’s diabetes diagnosis, and when the head coaching position came open in 2024, his wife urged him to apply for the position.

The #AsOne concept came to Ware’s attention in a reply to the post he made on social media, announcing that he was becoming the EHS head coach and that the team needed to do things together to accomplish anything as a program, on the field, off the field, etc.

“Ken Simpson, who passed away last year, an early 1960s graduate of Elkins High School, simply commented on the post ‘AsOne.’ And I said that’s it. We use #AsOne with everything we do,” said Ware.

Prior to Ware taking over the EHS football program in 2024, the team had only won two games in three years. While there were many naysayers, Ware believed in the kids and the community.

“I was told our community wouldn’t back us, the administration wouldn’t back us, that no kids would come out and play, that it just wasn’t going to be a productive time for me. I believed in our community, I believed in our alumni, I knew we could get the job done if we came together AsOne,” said Ware.

“The year before I took over there were 28 players. This year there are 51, up from 41 last year. It’s really remarkable to see the participation numbers shoot up like that.”

Ware had to build a complete coaching staff after taking the head coaching position. “I was able to build a coaching staff of guys with great integrity, guys full of character, guys who would put the kids first and themselves second,” commented Ware.

EHS alumni have been tremendously helpful to Ware and the program, helping the team purchase away uniforms in Ware’s first season and, this year, new home uniforms.

Business and community support have also allowed the team to purchase needed equipment such as travel bags for the players.

Davis Trust Company sponsored the reconditioning of the team helmets and will be recognized with a sticker on them; Reckart Logistics sponsored ‘Team Packs’ that are given to each player. Those are just a few examples of the many businesses and alumni who have been instrumental in supporting the needs of the program.

At the end of the 2024 season, the team’s success led to a spot in the playoffs, the first since 2020.

“We were pleased with the results in year one but none of that could have been accomplished alone without the help of so many,” said Ware.

A key component to Ware’s philosophy when taking over the program was the creation of a positive culture within the team.

“There was no culture when I came in. Forget about being relevant state-wide, forget about being relevant in north central West Virginia or even in the Big 10 Conference we play in. The kids weren’t even relevant in the halls of their schools. The kids wouldn’t wear their jerseys on game days. So, we had to change the culture,” said Ware.

“With culture change, expectation levels have risen. I want people to have those expectations.”

For the coming year, seven players from five counties have transferred to EHS based on the team culture that has been built.

An important component of the new culture of EHS football is serving the community.

“Football is one part of it but there’s so much more behind the scenes,” said Ware.

The core values of the culture are:

Respect — everyone matters, everyone contributes

Responsibility — supporting one another and depending on one another

Accountability — accountability for your actions; you have to own your responsibility

Integrity — we do the right thing when no one is looking

Resiliency — anything is possible, no matter how great the adversity

Members of the football team are also becoming leaders in the classroom, posting an overall team GPA for 3.3 for the past year.

Members of the coaching staff follow the players’ academic progress throughout the school year to ensure eligibility. The team receives leadership training from EHS and Naval Academy graduate Jeff Triplett and will also participate in a mental health summit during the fall.

The EHS football season will open on August 29 at Lincoln High School in Shinnston; the first home game is on September 5 against Moorefield. The full schedule can be found at https://www.wvssac.org/schedule/.

“Last year, we averaged almost 3,500 people per home game,” commented Ware.

Any individuals or businesses who would like to support the EHS football team can contact Ware by messaging the Elkins High School Football History page on Facebook.

“I used to say why can’t we do it in Elkins. Why can’t it be done here? The vision is that we can do it, we will do it and we do it AsOne. That’s one of the things that I really stress. My kids probably get tired of hearing AsOne, you might get tired of seeing #AsOne but I’m not gonna stop using it. That’s the only way we can do life,” he said.

“My guess is that most sitting in this room had help along the way, there’s been somebody who supported you, encouraged you, whatever it might be, nobody does anything alone. That’s the goal for our kids, that they don’t go out and try to live life alone, that they’re always pulling for one another and always have each other’s back,” concluded Ware.

Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in their communities, and in themselves.

Visit www.Rotary.org to learn more about Rotary International, visit the club’s Facebook page — Rotary Club of Elkins — or contact 2025-2026 club president Phillips Kolsun at phillipskolsun@gmail.com for more information about the Rotary Club of Elkins.