FERRIDAY &8212; Head football coach James McFarland has his own way of doing things.

Although McFarland has spent the better part of his life either coaching or playing the game, he has never felt the need to handle his teams the same way he was taught.

&8220;I like to take a different approach,&8221; McFarland said. &8220;I played under coach Marino Kasem at Alcorn, and with him there was one-way and that was his way. I always used to think to myself that I would do things differently when I got the chance.&8221;

That is not to say that McFarland doesn&8217;t have respect for his old coach or his philosophy. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. McFarland just sees value in utilizing an alternative coaching philosophy.

One of the unusual methods McFarland adheres to is keeping his players out of full pads during the opening weeks of practice when temperatures and the potential of heat-related injuries are at their highest.

McFarland says that this practice has two advantages: one, he doesn&8217;t have to worry about players suffering from the heat, and two, it keeps the number of injuries to a minimum as players are less likely to practice as aggressively as they would in pads.

McFarland also likes to match players up according to age in practice. That way he doesn&8217;t have the older, stronger players beating up on the younger guys during drills that involve contact.

&8220;I don&8217;t like full pads in practice. I never have,&8221; McFarland said. &8220;And I never saw the value in letting the older guys go to work on the younger players. I like to think that both help us keep the injuries down, although you could debate the plusses and minuses of it all day.&8221;

McFarland&8217;s ideas are definitely different from what most coaches believe in, but talking to the players gives one the feeling that maybe he is onto something.

&8220;The number one thing with him is respect,&8221; said Ferriday safety and wide receiver Dr‡ Carl. &8220;We all look to him sort of as a father. We have differences from time to time, but when the respect is there you can always find a way to work around those differences whatever they may be.&8221;

McFarland sees it the same way.

&8220;I try to coach these kids the way I would want another coach to treat my son,&8221; McFarland said. &8220;I believe in what the good Lord said about treating someone &8212; if you do something wrong to someone, someone will turn around and do it to you.&8221;