SNOHOMISH — With 10 new head football coaches in Wesco and the Cascade Conference this season, many teams are using the first few weeks of practice to implement new systems and philosophies and find out what their identity is going to be.
Glacier Peak has the luxury of skipping much of that process.
The Grizzlies’ football program is in its eighth season of existence, all eight under head coach Rory Rosenbach. Rosenbach isn’t the only familiar face to his players. All of the Grizzlies’ assistant coaches have been with the program for at least six years.
With all that experience, the Grizzlies have a stability that would make a lot of teams jealous.
“Those guys know what to do,” Rosenbach said of his assistant coaches. “I don’t have to go down there and say, ‘Let’s do this or let’s do that.’ I know they know. I hand them the schedule and the drills are set up when I get down (to the field). They know what I want them to do and the words I want them to use.”
What that leads to is a structured environment, even on the first day of practice.
“I think for me, (what stands out) is how clean today was and how crisp today was,” Rosenbach said. “A lot of that stems from the staff. They know what they want to do and we’ve been together so long there that there is that continuity where it is really easy.”
Having an experienced staff has cut out on a lot of the prep time for the season. Rosenbach said he met with his coaches for 45 minutes this past Sunday and that was what he called the “season preparation meeting.”
There is no question that the coaching staff is on the same page and Rosenbach said that trickles down to the players.
“I think the kids pick up on that and see that and it creates a little bit better tempo and creates a little more energy in practice,” he said. “There is a crispness to it because those guys know exactly what to coach and exactly what we’re going to do next and the kids can feed off that.
“I think stability is nice.”
Rosenbach’s trust in his staff also allows him to see more at practice, which helps him better evaluate his players.
“It certainly lessens my burden,” he said.
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
GLACIER PEAK GRIZZLIES
Head coach: Rory Rosenbach (eighth season)
Key returners: Andrew McCoy, Sr., TE/LB; Justin Guffey, Sr., WR/DB; Iain Black, Sr., RB/LB; Dexter Carter, Sr., RB/DB; Malaki Fifita, Jr., OL/DL; Colton Bunt, Jr., WR/DB.
Coach’s Quote: “I love this group of young men. They seem to have developed a quick chemistry and are very aggressive, which fits what we want to be as a team. There is a lot of competition. It’s a deep group with several positions battling it out in fall camp. Like a lot of teams, if we work hard all year, focus on the little things, stay healthy and get a few fortunate bounces, then we could be playing in mid to late November, which is all you can ask for in high school football.”
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