Justin Conyers constructing winning culture with Hickman Football
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Justin Conyers, the head football coach of Hickman High School, is one of Mid-Missouri's ultimate program builders.
After establishing championship cultures with two local high school football teams, Coach Conyers is already making strides at building a winning program at his alma mater.
"Everybody knew that whenever you played Hickman, when you stepped between those white lines, it was going to be a physical football game. That's the mentality that we're trying to build back into this place," Conyers said. "I think that's what excites me the most about being here is, not only did I get to play here, but trying to bring back that old school culture and mentality that once was walking through these hallways."
Conyers began his head coaching career at Battle High School, becoming its first-ever head football coach in 2013. During his six-season tenure with the Spartans, he guided the team to a state championship in its first year of playoff eligibility, five consecutive district titles and a 54-20 overall record. Battle posted a winning record every season under his leadership.
Then, Coach Conyers carried that success over to his next head coaching stop. The Columbia native, who was named Hallsville's head football coach in 2019, guided the program to new heights. Conyers led the team to its first-ever district title in his first season and its first-ever Tri-County Conference championship by his third year. Over a five-season stretch, Hallsville won two district crowns and recorded at least six wins in four of five years.
From there, Conyers decided to return home to Hickman High School for the 2024 season. The Kewpies doubled their win total from the previous two seasons combined in their new leader's inaugural campaign with the team, finishing with a 4-6 overall record. The 2024 campaign marked just the second time in more than a decade that Hickman reached four wins in a single season.
However, despite making strides in his first year with the program, Conyers believes the team left some success on the table.
"I told my wife after the season, I said, 'if one more person comes up to me and graduates me on a four win season, I'm going to lose my stuff.' That's not what I expected. I expected to be a six-to-seven-win program and that's where we're going to be. We're going to get there, and these kids know that," Conyers said.
Hickman is focused to reach that potential during the 2025 season, embracing a message from its leader.
"Be the change," Hickman tight end Kason Conyers said. "We just have to trust the process, be consistent, that's our biggest thing, and just be the change. We know we can be the change in our program, and we can win some games."
Coach Conyers builds his programs around five core values: culture, respect, honesty, integrity and hard work. Since taking the reins of Hickman Football, he has instilled those values into his players, built new connections with the student-athletes and their families, remodeled the school's weight room and increased the program's numbers considerably. During the 2024 season, the Kewpies were unable to form a freshman team, due to low participation. However, Hickman will field one this season after adding more than 50 freshmen to the roster this year.
"I'm a relationship builder. I didn't know that as a kid, but the one thing that I can do is I can talk to anybody and I can build a relationship with anybody. When I say build a relationship, I don't just mean be acquaintances and only wonder what you're good for me for football, but care about you as an individual outside of the game," Conyers said. "I'm a leader. I'm not a follower. I never have been. That's my purpose is to lead these kids and try to make them better men."
"All the offseason meetings that we'll have. He does a senior night with the seniors where he brings them all out to his house and feeds them. It's the stuff that goes beyond football, the connection for the life outside of football," Hickman assistant coach Matt Page, who also played for Conyers at Battle High School, said. "I think that the kids realize that he has their back, and it's not just about what they can give us on the football field, but he truly cares for them as a person and a football player."
The Kewpies kick off their second year under Coach Conyers against Marquette on Friday, August 29 at 7:00 p.m.
