Welcome back WMU Wolves' fans. It's been a while since I've been on here. This season was filled with firsts for a lot of us. For myself it was a season that put my time management skills to the test. Many of you know that there is a new assistant coach in my family and she is the new boss. Coach Klopfenstein also welcomed a new player into his family.
This season was one filled with some adversity and setbacks. The biggest challenge our team faced this year was numbers. There were very few of us and those that were here were inexperienced and young. Even our older kids didn't have much Varsity experience. At one point we had 23 athletes that were practicing and participating. By the end of the season we were down to 19 able bodied young men.
The scores of the game don't indicate the improvement we saw out of these young men. From the drubbing we got when we started the season up at Lisbon to the last game that we played very well for three out of four quarters we saw a lot of improvement. As a coaching staff we were very thankful for the young men and how they came to practice everyday and tried to improve. The last three weeks of practice were probably our best three weeks. That doesn't happen often with teams that have only 1 win. We received letters and messages from people outside the program that commended our athletes for their positive attitude, manners and high character. Those are more important comments than how many games we win.
I would like to thank the senior on a great season of leadership. Thank you and good luck. Underclassmen have some great shoes to fill.
To the underclassmen, we have some work to do. If you are a community member or parent of one of these young men please encourage them to get to the weight room and go out for other sports. We need our athletes out for other sports as well as in the weight room and coming in the mornings lifting and getting more flexible, getting quicker, getting stronger, etc. We would love to have all athletes in there, not just football players, but we can only hope that 90% of football players think that lifting is a necessity. We were small this year and not that quick. If we are going to be one or the other than we need to improve our speed and strength. As a coaching staff we have some ideas in place to hold you accountable and work towards being the best you can be. Here is our plan to start "Building a Tradition" here at WMU. We've had success in the past with a group of guys that were very similar to this group.
2016 was a learning season that we can all take moments from and become better students, sons, teachers, coaches, husbands, fathers, athletes, and members of the WMU community.
For those before us, those of us now, and those that follow, WE ARE WMU!
This season was one filled with some adversity and setbacks. The biggest challenge our team faced this year was numbers. There were very few of us and those that were here were inexperienced and young. Even our older kids didn't have much Varsity experience. At one point we had 23 athletes that were practicing and participating. By the end of the season we were down to 19 able bodied young men.
The scores of the game don't indicate the improvement we saw out of these young men. From the drubbing we got when we started the season up at Lisbon to the last game that we played very well for three out of four quarters we saw a lot of improvement. As a coaching staff we were very thankful for the young men and how they came to practice everyday and tried to improve. The last three weeks of practice were probably our best three weeks. That doesn't happen often with teams that have only 1 win. We received letters and messages from people outside the program that commended our athletes for their positive attitude, manners and high character. Those are more important comments than how many games we win.
I would like to thank the senior on a great season of leadership. Thank you and good luck. Underclassmen have some great shoes to fill.
To the underclassmen, we have some work to do. If you are a community member or parent of one of these young men please encourage them to get to the weight room and go out for other sports. We need our athletes out for other sports as well as in the weight room and coming in the mornings lifting and getting more flexible, getting quicker, getting stronger, etc. We would love to have all athletes in there, not just football players, but we can only hope that 90% of football players think that lifting is a necessity. We were small this year and not that quick. If we are going to be one or the other than we need to improve our speed and strength. As a coaching staff we have some ideas in place to hold you accountable and work towards being the best you can be. Here is our plan to start "Building a Tradition" here at WMU. We've had success in the past with a group of guys that were very similar to this group.
2016 was a learning season that we can all take moments from and become better students, sons, teachers, coaches, husbands, fathers, athletes, and members of the WMU community.
For those before us, those of us now, and those that follow, WE ARE WMU!