A Penny Heads-Up is Good Luck

September 24, 2010

Football. It’s one of the most popular sports to watch, at least when they play well and win.

Up until the away game at Stevenson I didn’t think any of the three teams: Freshman, JV or Varsity, were going to get a win this year. It’s a good thing they did, because it was starting to look like making a coaching change wasn’t going to be of any benefit for the program.

Knowing how much work they put into practicing over the summer, the win was worth it, but the wait to getting there wasn’t.

Even though the varsity boys were coming off a losing season last fall, to me, the coaching changes should have made a bigger impact sooner with the new ideas and styles of the new head coach Todd Pennycuff, who has been in the Novi School district for fifteen years, but came here from previously coaching South Lyon East.

Although, I guess, it does take time and practice to get back to where the team was two years ago when they made it to the play offs, but all the “L”s in 2009 are just one of the weaknesses they have had to overcome this year.

When Pennycuff was named varsity football head coach, I was disappointed. While he is a good coach, bringing in someone from outside the program might not have been my first choice.

I would have picked Jeff Burnside because he has been working with the program for almost ten years. He didn’t get the job, but that’s beside the point.

Having an “outsider” come in can be difficult, which is something I think the team has had to work through, but there are some advantages.

New perspectives can shine a new light on the way things could be done, or how players can handle a certain play the opposing team makes. As of now, I think the coaching change was good for the program, but I guess we’ll have to see if it pays off the rest of the season.

Another thing the team has on its plate: new captains. I’ll admit, I didn’t know exactly how the captains are chosen, so, I talked to a second year varsity player and he said that the coaches pick the people who are most devoted to the team and are hard working.

Having Brian Bush, Krister Engja, Alan Mencer and Joe Mikkelsen as the captains this year is a good thing. Since they are all seniors they have experience, know what they’re doing and they know the game. I also think they make pretty good role models for the younger players in the program.

The captains’ main job, in my opinion, besides leading the team to a win, is getting the team pumped up before the game and making them believe they can beat anyone and everyone if they play their best.

So, as a senior, I’m going to give it my best effort to go to as many games as possible this football season. Supporting the new coaches, the new captains and all of the varsity football players is what will help them win because the more we want to see them win, the more they will want to win. Plus, having a heads up coach like Pennycuff can be good luck for this varsity football team.