CCA JV football finds the positives in a difficult season
By Charlie Rook
Clinton Christian Academy junior varsity (JV) football currently sits 0-5 in their season campaign, but (as of press time), with two games left, the focus is to keep getting better and better. Head Coach Sam Vincent listed four goals this group has that define a positive season.
The group’s four goals are to turn the players into young men – and men of God, to continue to improve in the game of football throughout the season, to turn hard work into positive results and wins, and, lastly, to continue to be a place where kids enjoy playing the game.
Vincent spoke to his philosophy on having these four goals for the JV group each and every season.
“We want to build a program that teaches lessons that translate off the field,” said Vincent. “Ninety-nine percent of ours and everyone’s kids won’t make a living playing it, but they are: sons, friends, classmates – and they will be husbands, fathers and leaders themselves. The more that they enjoy football and all it has to offer, the easier it is for us to instill some of those values.”
Vincent says being the head coach of a JV team offers a unique opportunity to watch players improve at an exponential rate, not just as players, but as people.
“The best part of coaching for me is probably our first and fourth goals the rest of this year,” said Vincent. “Being able to use this sport as a teacher of life is something I don’t take lightly. Being at a school and in an association that allows us to openly speak and teach God’s Word is special. It’s something that I think is so important in today’s world.”
As far as the season is concerned, Vincent says that the improvement of the team has been very encouraging.
“They have improved a tremendous amount,” said Vincent. “We’re much more physical than we were at the start, which is where it all starts in this sport. We’ve gotten better with alignment and assignment both offensively and defensively, still trying to execute at a higher level, but they get better each and every week.”
An issue the team has had this season has been injuries, and, as a small private school, CCA has struggled to find solidity in certain skill positions, an example being the starting QB getting hurt.
Vincent spoke to the balance of competition and health at this level.
“Health is our main priority, for a few reasons. With our size and numbers, I think keeping the schedule to a minimum is optimal,” said Vincent. “We’ve lost our starting QB and have had three to four more guys miss time at some point. Obviously, we wish everyone stayed one hundred percent healthy throughout the year, but that’s just not realistic in this game. At their age, I think it is extremely important to find the fine line between health and game reps; for us, I think that’s about right with six to eight games.”
Vincent is both the varsity and JV head coach at CCA, and he says he believes that his being involved with the younger group allows them to be more prepared than they would be, when it’s time for them to step on the field at the varsity level.
“At smaller schools I think it’s very important that our varsity coaches are involved at the younger levels, especially JV,” said Vincent. “We keep our lingo and schemes as close to the same as possible, so that they’re hearing the same stuff throughout. In the past, it’s been huge for me and allows kids coming up as tenth graders to be ready to step on the field Day 1.
As of press time, the Clinton Christian Academy JV squad had two games left this season, October 16 against Discovery Christian, and October 23 against St. Aloysius.
Click here for the full article about the club’s leadership.
