TAMPA, Fla. — How do you change a losing culture into a winning one?

At Chamberlain High School, they’re doing it one study session at a time.

What You Need To Know

  •  James Wilder Jr. is the new head coach at Chamberlain High School.

  •  His family, that includes the Tampa Bay Bucs all-time leading rusher James Wilder Sr., is football royalty in the Bay area.

  •  Wilder Jr. starred on the football field at Plant High School and then Florida State.

And leading the way is new Head Coach James Wilder, Jr. It’s a name that resonates in the Tampa Bay Area. The son of the Tampa Bay Bucs all-time leading rusher, Wilder knows how to draw a crowd. Even if it’s at 6 a.m., well before the first school bell rings. Football class is in session.

“I expect to see notes cause if you’re not taking notes, you’re telling the coaches we not studying and you got nothing to study,” Wilder said to the players.

Wilder speaks from experience. He won a state championship at Plant High School. And he won a National Championship at Florida State. He came to the Noles program in 2011 as one of the top recruits in the nation. And he made an immediate impact.

Wilder’s always won on the football field. But he has his work cut for him at Chamberlain. Since the late legendary Coach Billy Turner stepped down after the 2008 season, there’s been a lot of turnover, six different head coaches, including one that lasted only a couple of months. Wilder wants to put an end to that and honor Turner’s legacy while putting his own stamp on the program, a program that actually jump started his prep career.

“When I was in high school, this was concrete right here from 1960,” Wilder said. “We had a concrete stadium from like 1960. We didn’t have a weight room. We definitely didn’t have a field house. So, it’s beautiful and we’ve come a long way.”

And they’ve got a long way to go. Wilder’s never been one to shy away from a challenge. And he’s got a big one at Chamberlain, a team that didn’t win a game last season. Wilder’s passionate about turning things around. Just like’s passionate about his father’s legacy. Wilder wasn’t raised on cartoons. He grew up watching his dad’s highlight reel.

“It was my morning show. It’s what I used to watch every day,” he said. “I used to wake up, push the VCR in while my mom was cooking and literally watched the same plays all the time.”

It’s because he’s studied the film so intently that Wilder has a greater appreciation for all his dad did on the football field with Tampa Bay. And it’s why Wilder firmly believes his dad belongs in the Bucs Ring of Honor.

“He deserves it and we don’t want to wait until his time is gone and then have to talk for him and say a speech,” Wilder said. “Like, give him his flowers while he is alive.”