Weeks 1 and 2

The first two games are in the books already. We are 1-1 and were very close to being 2-0. Like the saying goes though, "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades." There have been some questionable calls by the officials and we have made a lot of mistakes as a team, both coaches and players, these first two games. It is easy to make excuses and cast blame when things go against you. We tell our players to focus on the things they have control over; their attitude and their effort. We can't control which officials we have, whether they are good or bad, or whether they are going to make the correct call every time or not. What we can control is how we react to them. If we let people we don't agree with take us out of our game, they win. They are controlling us and at no time do we ever want anyone in control of us. We talked to our kids at half time of the Linden game and told them to not whine or complain about the calls that were going on. Instead, focus on us and how we are reacting to what is happening on the field. We can choose to have a positive attitude or a negative attitude. We don't have to let other people suck the life out us, we are in control of ourselves and our attitude. It was a much better second half than first, because our kids re-grouped and focused on themselves instead of the officials or what the other team was getting away with.

We are a young team and have a lot of improvements to make. We were a better team the second week than we were the first, and we will be a better team this week than we were last week. The goal is to get better every week. We have a lot of young players who are growing up very quickly and we have seen glimpses of what this team can become. This is homecoming week against Ripon Christian. While they are no longer in our league, they will always be our neighbor and that makes this a rivalry game every year. With all the distractions of homecoming and Ripon High's centennial celebration, our kids have had a good week of practice. We are focusing hard on shoring up the basic fundamentals of the game to get us ready for our tough league schedule. Game time this week is on SATURDAY, Sept. 11 at 4:00 pm. We haven't played a Saturday afternoon game is over 10 years. There are a lot of festivities going on so come out and enjoy the celebration and support the Indians as they take on the Knights to celebrate Ripon High's homecoming and it's hundred year anniversary.