Football should be fun.
That was the message Alan Tomow, Shawano Community High School’s new varsity coach, had for his assistant coaches and players as he led the program’s first few practices of the season this week.
“Football is an enjoyable game,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be complicated, it doesn’t have to be not fun. I want them to have fun. I want them to talk about this team and the experiences they had here the way I’m able to talk about my coaches and the experiences I had in high school and college.”
Those memories are fresh for Tomow, a 2006 graduate of SCHS.
“What I really wanted our coaches to buy into first and pass on to the kids is, it’s not about where we finish, it’s not about what our record is at the end of the year. It’s about us establishing a positive relationship with all of our kids and making sure they have an enjoyable experience playing for us,” Tomow said.
Shawano will keep a lot of the schemes it ran last year, but Tomow wants the players to become more instinctual.
“I wanted to simplify the game and kind of make it a little bit easier and we don’t have to think as much,” he said. “They can come out and hopefully understand the offense at all levels and get moving.”
Tomow said the first few practices were a chance for the team to get to know him and his expectations.
“It was definitely a transition period to adjust to the tempo, the speed and efficiency that I wanted us to move at,” Tomow said. “I thought everything went well.”
Nineteen seniors graduated from last year’s team, including defensive lineman Alex Mickelson and linebacker Sam Stupecky, who both were named second-team all-conference. Stupecky also was voted the team’s most valuable player.
The team returns a few key players, including senior running back Will Cox, who was fourth in the Bay Conference a year ago with 646 yards on 129 carries despite dealing with injuries.
“Will Cox is healthy and he looks really good and getting back to full speed,” Tomow said.
Receiver and defensive back Brice Bergner, a 5-foot-8 senior, also has caught his coach’s eye.
“He finished the season last year on a really strong note and he definitely took that and ran with it,” Tomow said. “He comes in and looks much more confident and a stronger player than what he looked like last year at the start of the season. We expect a lot of good things from him.”
Bergner was named second-team all-conference last season. He was 10th in the Bay in receiving with 10 catches for 156 yards, and two touchdowns. He also was second in the conference on kickoff returns with 18 returns for 344 yards, averaging 19.1 yards per return.
The coach also praised the work of Bryce Richards, a 5-foot-10 senior who played wide receiver last year, and the leadership in the large freshman and sophomore classes.
“We have some good leadership from our guys at the younger levels that is starting to show through early,” he said. “We have really good numbers in those freshman and sophomore classes.”
Cole Huntington, a 6-foot junior, will take over at the quarterback postion, replacing last year’s starter senior Ethan Braun. Braun was third in the Bay Conference in passing with 721 yards. He completed 56 of 112 pass attempts and scored six touchdowns. Huntington was named the starting quarterback after a competition for the job this week in practice.
The other thing Tomow is stressing for his players is accountability to each other.
“The kids will find that every decision that they make will affect our football team,” He said. “That includes decisions we make to help our teammates get in the weight room. Things we decide to do on the weekends. Things we don’t decide to do on the weekends. That all comes back and has a direct reflection on our football team. We want to encourage positive choices.”
The Hawks have gone 2-13 the last two seasons, and have not made the playoffs since a 4-6 campaign in 2010.
The team will hold an intrasquad scrimmage at 7 p.m. Saturday at SCHS, then host a scrimmage Aug. 17 with Green Bay West, Menominee Indian and Tri-County.
Shawano opens its season Aug. 23 at home against Bay Conference foe Hortonville.
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