A legacy can be difficult to establish and even harder to maintain. But Tom Shuman has no doubt the legacy of Ravenwood football is safe under his watch.

“I’m a believer that you are what you do every day,” Shuman said. “It’s not always going to work out, but if you train like a champion, act like a champion and keep a positive attitude good things will happen.”

The veteran coach with more than 25 years of experience took the helm of the Raptors, back-to-back state finalists in 2005 and 2006, after Brian Rector stepped down following the 2008 season. Shuman was on Rector’s staff for every one of his five years as Ravenwood’s coach.

But now it’s time to make his own footprint on the program, not yet out of its first decade of existence.

“I always felt like I was a big part of the program,” he said. “I’ve had a whirlwind of good experiences since I’ve been here.”

The Raptors officially open their season Friday night with a 7:30 p.m. game at Goodpasture High School. An Aug. 21 scrimmage against the cross-town Brentwood Academy Eagles team ended with a 27-13 loss.

Shuman came to Ravenwood in 2004 as the offensive line coach after coaching at Braxton County High in West Virginia for 18 years. His work with the men in the trenches helped the Raptors capture the 2005 5A state championship in the program’s third year of varsity play.

So while there are big shoes to fill with Rector’s departure, the program continues to run on all cylinders.

“A lot of people were disappointed when Brian left,” Shuman said. “But we’ve retained a great deal of the staff and never missed a beat in the program.”

Being named as the head coach was never a given, Shuman said. But the former line coach and offensive coordinator held out hope the school would keep things “in the family.”

“I feel like I’d done a good job and been loyal to the school, so hopefully they would return the favor,” he said. “It really has been like a family here.”

Now begins the process of taking Ravenwood football out of its infancy stages, where so much already has been accomplished, into the next stage of its growth and beyond.

“I want to try and grow the program in all directions,” he said. “We haven’t had a freshman team here for a while. And we’ve had JV teams but there’s never been a big emphasis on it.

“As many kids that can play, I want to play.”

In addition to a new head football coach, Ravenwood and other schools are dealing with a new district alignment and playoff format from the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association.

But this is high school, where people come to learn.

“I always tell the kids that school never closes,” Shuman said. “We’ll always be learning. We have to continue to learn and grow from the experiences we’ll have.”

The 2009 team is full of experience but there are still some hurdles to clear, especially on defense, with just three starters returning. With a tradition already established though, Ravenwood football should continue to stay among the elite in Middle Tennessee and the rest of the state.

“I love coaching here,” Shuman said. “It’s a collective deal with the student body, the parents and most of all the players. The kids expect a lot of themselves.”