WILLIE ADKINS

Successes Help Adkins
Amass A Library-Full
of Blue Dragon Stories

Winning was never the name of the game to Willie Adkins, a Blue Dragon assistant football coach from 1969 to 1980.

He didn’t like to recount wins on the field, or reminisce over victories at bowl games, even though that record was impressive. He’d much rather share stories about students who went on to pursue careers in education or players who became NFL coaches.

“I have a lot of memories, but I don’t look back at winning and losing, “Adkins said. “I was just a teacher and a coach and I’m proud of that.”

The Hutchinson Quarterback Club named Adkins to its Hall of Fame in 2004.

Adkins began playing football during his freshman year in high school. He was a guard and a linebacker. “In those days, we played both offense and defense,” he said.

Adkins continued playing through his college years. He graduated from Pittsburg State, and then joined the Gorillas’ coaching staff. Adkins was thankful for the chance to work with Pittsburg’s legendary coach Carnie Smith. “People are always saying, It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” But Carnie practiced and lived that saying,” Adkins said.

Duty soon called. Adkins entered the Army and was sent to Germany. But even in the military, Adkins couldn’t get away from sports. Once commanding officers found out about his background, he was designated as the coach of on-base football, basketball and softball teams. When the going got tough, Adkins was asked to suit up.

Once back home in Kansas, Adkins married his college sweetheart, Greta, and then took a job as a head coach of the high school football team in Elk City.

Adkins found out quickly the difference between coaching Army troops and high school kids.

“The Army team had more discipline, but since the high school kids were much younger, you could guide them. You could teach them. I liked that,” he said.

After 12 years of coaching and teaching at both the college and high-school level, Adkins came to Hutchinson in 1969. He was hired as defensive coordinator by John Matous. Adkins remembered Matous as a “strong disciplinarian who made the program the success it was.”

Indeed, Matous amassed a 97-49-6 record during his Blue Dragon coaching tenure.

Adkins, along with offensive coordinator Ken McMurray, was at Matous’ side for most of those years, including an undefeated 11-0 season in 1969. Adkins hesitates to take much credit for those victories though. “I was just a small part of that,” he said.

However, a look at the Blue Dragon record book shows Adkins also built his own legacy as defensive coordinator. In fact, school records in total defense, rushing defense, and passing defense all occurred during the years when Adkins was assistant coach. Still, to Adkins, the best games were usually not cited in those record books.

“Winning didn’t mean much if the kids didn’t play as well as they could,” I felt best when the kids did the best they could, when they gave everything they had and more.”

Adkins stepped aside his Hutchinson coaching duties after the 1980 season. Apart from the game, Adkins taught history and marriage and family classes at Hutchinson Community College from 1969 until his retirement in 1994. And Adkins is quick to emphasize the importance of that classroom work. “They (students and players) called me ‘Coach’ but I always thought of myself as a teach”, he said.

Given that he coached for more than 25 years, Adkins does have some advice to share with players, “Learn all you can; do your best to help other people, and try to always do what’s right”

To coaches he suggests, “Enjoy those kids you coach; enjoy the small victories you have; enjoy seeing them grow up to be better people because you coached them.”