FeedsRockets blast off for 2008
Click image to enlarge
New Glenn Coach Tim Hardin motivates his team at the end of a practice session last week. He hopes to return Glenn football to playoff form.Toughness has been a trademark of John Glenn football over the years and it doesn’t look like it’s going to change any time soon.
The Rockets are looking to return to the good old days of smash-mouth, blue-collar football and Tim Hadrin, the new head coach, is set to rebuild on the old tradition of winning.
It was still the first week of practice—just five days in and the second day in full pads—and already Hardin was expecting perfection from his players. His get-it-done-or-go-home philosophy was sinking into some and tearing down others during conditioning drills on Friday.
“We’ve had some good days and we’ve had some bad days,” Hardin said as his players staggered to the locker room for a break. “I like the group of guys that we have, but they haven’t learned the right way yet so we’re going to keep after that.”
The right way is the “get it done” part. Hardin said he won’t rest or let his team rest until it is done and that might not be for another 10 weeks when the regular season is over—or longer if they make the desired playoffs.
Although Hardin sounds like he’s drawing a line in the sand, conditioning is just one of many steps needed to march down the road to toughness.
“Toughness has been a tradition here for a long time,” he said. “That’s why we’re working them so hard in doubles because we want to keep that tradition going. We have to be in good shape and we have to be in better shape than the teams that we’re playing against.”
Glenn won the City Championship against cross-town rival Wayne and just missed the playoffs last year with a 5-4 record under Coach Todd DeLuca. With DeLuca’s dismissal, Hardin stepped up from the head junior varsity position with hopes of getting the Rockets back to the playoffs. That’s something the Rockets hadn’t done since famed coach Chuck Gordon retired.
Hardin played for and coached under Gordon and has been involved with the Rockets in one way or another for the last 20 years. That doesn’t mean he won’t face challenges.
First is to form a team. He lost 25 seniors to graduation off of the 45-man roster. The good news is numbers are up from last year—the 2008 roster carries 56 player names.
There are only a handful of positions solidified, though.
Dazz Bragg and Kyren Boyd are senior defensive backs and senior lineman Jake Morris is back.
“We’re Expecting big things from those guys this year,” Hardin said. “As far as the rest of the positions available, they’re still up for grabs.”
The good news is he has plenty of competition for key roles. There are three players battling for the starting quarter back and similar situation in the backfield.
“It’s great to have that competition,” Hardin said. “Those guys are pushing each other. All three are doing a good job and the nice thing is we have three guys competing for that job when there have been years where we haven’t had anybody compete for it and that’s real tough. So we’re real fortunate to have that.”
Another challenge is being in the South division of the newly formed Kensington Lakes Activities Association. The South is arguably the toughest of the four divisions split between two conferences—Kensington and Lakes. There they have to face Livonia Churchill, Livonia Franklin, Plymouth, Canton and rival Wayne.
“I think in our south division—and I’m not taking anything away from the other divisions—but it’s a tough division,” Hardin said. “All of the teams are good teams and have good programs. It’s going to be a battle with our schedule this year—a battle every week.”
Hardin said he plans to beat teams not with tricks or gimmicks but with hard work. At the end of the day when his players stagger off the field he just has one destination in mind.
“Our goal is to get back to the playoffs,” Hardin said. “John Glenn had been a playoff team for many, many years in a row and our goal is to get back there. We want to play tough and be competitive and we want to have that reputation of being that tough blue-collar hardworking team.”
Glenn opens the season at home against Waterford Mott at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 28.
