Prep coaches gettin’ ready for some football?
Published 10:58 am Thursday, August 19, 2010
Leading up to today’s first practices of the 2009 season, high school football coaches like Aaron Cupp rarely had a spare minute.
The past two days Cupp was swamped with all sorts of tasks, like meeting with players’ parents, passing out practice gear to about 100 players, meticulously finalizing practice details with assistant coaches. After all the preparation, everything kicks into high gear today.
“That excitement, it’s just built,” said Cupp, Stanwood High School’s first-year head football coach. “In that way, I sort of feel like a player again. I’m just ready to get going.”
That sentiment is shared by young coaches like Cupp — who was a fullback at Brigham Young University — as well as longtime coaches like John Ondriezek. Beginning his 17th season as Mariner High’s head coach and closing in on four decades of coaching preps, Ondriezek feels the same way as when he started.
“I’m just always excited and looking forward to it, especially working with a new group of kids,” Ondriezek said. “You never know what to expect.”
Today, Washington high school football teams are finally allowed to practice in preparation for the upcoming season. Games begin the first week of September.
At Stanwood, coach Cupp is adjusting to new players, new assistant coaches and a new town. He previously coached in Oregon for three seasons, including two years as head coach at Willamina High. Before that, he was an assistant at Meadowdale for four seasons.
“I’m really excited,” the 1999 BYU graduate said. “The more time I spend up here the more I realize that Stanwood’s a football town. We’ve got a lot of community support. I’m fortunate that kids are buying into the system.”
After handing out practice equipment, Cupp spent much of Tuesday fine-tuning practice plans to ensure the Spartans have a productive opening practice today.
“I really think to have a quality team you have to be really meticulous in your time, so I try to work hard to make sure that we are,” he said, camped in his office adjacent to the boys locker room. The football office feels more like home to Cupp than the house near Lake Goodwin that the coach moved into a few weekends ago.
“It doesn’t feel like home yet,” he said, “because I’ve only slept there three nights.”
At Mariner High in south Everett, coach Ondriezek sounded more relaxed than Cupp. After coaching so many years, Ondriezek has a reliable system in place that erases some of the stress that goes with starting a new season.
“I’m fortunate because I have a (coaching) staff that’s been with me — most of them about 10 years — and so that makes it a lot easier,” said Ondriezek. “That’s the key to your success and being organized, is your assistant coaches and your staff. We’re all on the same page.”
Asked if he had advice for a young coach like Stanwood’s Cupp, Ondriezek said: “Just be prepared. Prepare yourself early so that when you’re ready to start everything will run smoothly. Preparation is the key to anything we do.”
Based on Cupp’s enthusiasm and attention to detail, he appears to be on track. But, ready or not, the football season is here.
Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.
