Lift for Life’s first-year football coach immediately dropped down and gave his team push-ups.

In his eyes, that’s only fair.

“That’s the coach holding himself accountable,” said Noah Ridgel, a senior at Lift for Life. “He lets us know he’s going to make mistakes. So you bounce back from them. We learn from our mistakes and get better because of them.”

Their head coach’s example helped them build relationships and spurred the Hawks on during the offseason.

“It makes me want to take more responsibility,” Ridgel said. “It makes me want to be better when I see someone improve. Not just by making that mistake, but by owning up to it and doing better – getting better.”

Lift for Life, the No. 8 small school in STLhighschoolsports.com’s preseason rankings, just won three district titles in a row and was 8-5 last season.

But the district championship trophies don’t shine like they once did. The Hawks want more.

“It’s kind of become the norm, but then we always lose in the quarterfinals,” said Lift for Life senior John Young. “That’s something we want to change this season.”

Lift for Life has never made it past the quarter-finals since the football club was founded in 2010.

The Hawks struggled in their first eight years of existence, managing just 14 wins. Since 2018, under former coach Charles Bass, the Hawks have won 47 games and three district titles, including last season.

Woolfolk and the new coaching staff have stepped in to give the Hawks a new lease of life as they try to overcome that hurdle.

Before being hired by Lift for Life in January, Woolfolk was an assistant at Vianney. Before that, he was an assistant for two state championship teams at St. Mary’s.

“I was under the great leadership of (athletic director) Mike Potsou at Vianney,” Woolfolk said. “I would say the same thing about (Vianney football coach) Chris Starkey. I mean, he really ran a serious program when it came to organization and planning. He was very forward-thinking in that regard. And before that, I was with Ken Turner at St. Mary’s and before that, Corey Bethany. So those two guys were big program guys.”

The Hawks’ offense returns Ridgel, who had 941 rushing yards and six touchdowns last season.

As dynamic as Ridgel was with the ball, Woolfolk has already left his mark on the program by moving him to the safety position.

“College recruiters are talking to him and they like him at the DB position,” Woolfolk said. “The kid is going to play on Saturdays one day. I don’t want to put that much stress on his body. As far as the running back position goes, the committee will decide. He’s going to be a very important building block for us on the defensive side of the ball.”

Mikell Burden, who caught 15 passes for 528 yards and six scores, returns to the offensive side of the ball.

On defense, John Young and Alan Pointer return to lead a deep defensive line. Pointer finished last year with 29 tackles and was tied for the team lead with six sacks.

When he arrived on campus and began to meet his players, Woolfolk was convinced he had a special team. He immediately began researching the top players in Class 2 and 3 to prepare for the season.

“I’m not here to hold back,” Woolfolk said. “I’m here to win, and I want to coach guys whose first career choice is football. That’s my goal – a state championship.”