Former Alabama receiver Nikita Stover takes over as Decatur Heritage Christian Academy football coach

By Mike Perrin 

Nikita Stover was named the new head football coach at Decatur Heritage Christian Academy on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. Stover replaces Steve Meek, who retired after 11 seasons leading the Eagles. (Submitted)

Nikita Stover was named the new head football coach at Decatur Heritage Christian Academy on Tuesday, taking over for Steve Meek, who has retired after leading the Eagles for 11 of the 12 years the school has fielded a team.

Stover, 36, was an All-State performer at Hartselle at wide receiver and played for the University of Alabama. He played his final two years at the UA for Nick Saban. He said he would bring lessons he learned from all of his coaches to his first high school head job.

“I feel like what I learned from Coach Saban is I have to teach them the right way, like he taught us,” Stover said. “We (at Alabama) wanted it, but we didn’t know how much. He made us realize what we could be. He turned it around at Bama in two years.

“At Decatur Heritage, they have been winning, but I think there’s more that we can do.”

Stover played for Michael Smith for three seasons at Hartselle and for Bob Godsey as a senior. Smith, the new coach said, made him realize what he could accomplish if he worked hard instead of merely relying on his natural ability.

“He basically showed me the ropes,” Stover said. “I started both ways as a freshman and back then you didn’t see that too much in 5A football (out of six classes). He taught me the game and how to become the ultimate player that I could be. I played football because I was good at it, but he made me realize I could be great at it. I was a kid who didn’t want to work out, just put on the pads and go play. He threw me in the fire as a freshman, going against the best players. That was tough, but he guided me.”

Working out has been the focus of Stover’s career since at least 2014 when he started Core 9 Training in Decatur. Stover works with athletes from several sports, he said. “Core 9 is geared toward basketball and baseball right now,” he said. “I guess for our speed and agility training, we have 65 or 70 percent baseball kids.”

Stover coached the Decatur Heritage middle school team to a 6-1 record this season after first getting involved at the school by coaching the girls’ middle school basketball team after his friend, Johnny Jones, became the varsity girls’ head coach.

Athletic director Ty Patterson said Stover’s success with the athletes and parents put the idea in his head that he might be a potential replacement if Meek indeed decided to retire.

“Coach Meek has been here, it seems like forever,” Patterson said of the coach who was 86-42 at DHCA and 103-75 all-time with five years at Lawrence County. “He built this program as we moved up to a varsity program and handled it exactly like we want a coach to do. Early on, we worked on a strategy like this would be his last year.

“We got the gears rolling pretty early for what we were looking for in a coach. At our school, winning is a component, but it’s not just about winning. That’s not all we look for in a coach. We’re looking for men and women who are special in the lives of children. We look at sports as a laboratory for our Christian faith.

“Coach Stover did a great job with our middle school girls’ basketball program, with our kids and their families. There was an opportunity for him to move into the football program this year, with an idea in my mind that maybe he could become a ‘coach-in-waiting’ situation. This is a great transition for us. As athletic director, I don’t have to scramble. We’re able to celebrate Coach Meek and everything he’s done for our program and at the same time, look to the next chapter.”

Stover said Meek was a great resource for him during the season. “I really mean it when I say he is one of the best guys I’ve ever met,” he said. “Just the little things he would tell me, I learned a tremendous amount from him in the short time I was around. He is helping a lot with the transition. Every step of the way, if I ask a question, he comes up with an answer.”

Stover said he coached youth football for 11 years and often was encouraged by other coaches to get into the high-school game. He spent 2016 as an assistant coach at Danville under Josh LouAllen.

The 2022 Eagles will have to replace 10 seniors from the Class 1A roster.

“We’ll be fairly young,” Stover said. “Our offensive line will be experienced, but we’re losing some great skill players, two of them are college athletes.”

Tyler Founds, an All-State safety, is a Troy University commitment and Brayden Kyle was a record-breaking quarterback who was the 1A Alabama Sports Writers Association All-State and Back of the Year. He also was All-State in basketball.

“Losing 10 guys, we will have to count on guys who are eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders,” Stover said. “I think this middle school class will be very special, so two years from now will be totally different. I think the future is bright, for sure.”

Stover and his wife, Miriam, have one son, Tra, who is graduating from Austin this year. He was a standout defensive back who has committed to play at Austin Peay.