Assistant Coach Tucker Taylor visited with me by phone.
I asked so State Champions?
Tucker Taylor said, "I think that is primarily the goal of the boys, the community, the coaches. Everybody, but ultimately we are going to have to practice and work hard. We are going to have to put some egos aside. Right now, we have all the talent in the world to go and win the state championship. As a coaching staff and the players, it's up to us to really buy into the team. It will be hard work and not make any mistakes off the field that will hurt us on the field."
"In Six-man football, the big thing is staying healthy." Big Sandy knows how important this is. In the last two years, we have felt the sting of injuries. Two years ago, it made a difference in the playoffs. Last year it affected the team early, but the injuries lasted long after the playoffs were done.
The first football game is Friday in town. White Sulpher Springs comes to town, and they also bring a Junior High team. The Junior High game starts at 4:00 with Varsity to follow at 7:00. There are nineteen varsity players and 15 players for junior high. "We have a good group. We've grown our program by six. Part of that is the small senior class with no one going out for football last year."
The head Coach this year is Larry Jappe, with assistants this year being Tucker Taylor and a new assistant coach Ryan Labuda. "It will be good to have another set of eyes and another voice. It opens up at practice finding new drills and watching to make sure skills are being learned correctly. This will hopefully also help by keeping players healthy.
"That's great. The kids look up to and respect Ryan. It's going to be a good deal. This is a team sport, so if you have some guys who think it about them, it's going to hurt us. We have to be all in for the team. We need good captains."
The Pioneers have five seniors this year and strong upperclassman leadership.
It's supposed to be 81 degrees on Friday, so those Junior Highers will learn how to play in the heat. Come out and support the teams.
