Week 7
It is crazy to think that we are over two-thirds complete with this high school football season. Throughout the season we have experienced the highs and the lows, there have been big surprises and some disappointments along the way, but it all doesn’t matter until we get to game 10. What’s great about Missouri high school football is that 10th game of the season is the first game of district play and is really the only game that holds weight moving forward in the playoffs. Like Ozark football (which I highlighted last week), the mantra moving forward in week 10 is 1-0. Indeed, it is exciting leading up to district play! This week I want to highlight a team in the Springfield public school system that is experiencing some transition and is looking to build upon that transition for the future. I was excited when coach Frank Tristan agreed to visit with me about his Glendale High School football program.
Glendale Football
Coach Tristan has set the bar high for this coming season because he is excited about building a strong foundation for the future. There has been so much change in the Glendale football program this year to include a sizeable adjustment in the offensive scheme. What excites coach Tristan the most is seeing the change take place and the growth of his players. This season Glendale has had their first running back run for 100 yards in a game sense before previous coaching staff were there. This is quite the feat for a team that did not have a true running back position until the start of the season. Part of the culture change has been generating buy-in from the players in the change of football schemes, and it is working!
Change is hard and Glendale high school football is no different. Coach Tristan aims to continue having this as a focal point moving forward within his program. He is looking to develop players during this coming offseason and pushing current players to continue to engage with the community, faculty and students. The idea for the future is to develop the football program so that they or a contender within the Central Ozark Conference (COC). To do this Coach Tristan will continue to work to develop a program that will have a consistent number of players of 90 to 100 and having senior classes of 20 to 25 each year. This will be important because they will need depth and leadership when playing in the tough COC.
It is not all about the gridiron with coach Tristan and the Glendale football program. He aims to continue to develop young players into great members of the community that they live in. Areas that Coach Tristan points out to be these great community members are being good dads and good husbands that can work through adversity. Additionally, he highlights what it means to love and to have great character outside of playing football. Some current areas where players can be highlighted in doing this are volunteering with local flag football teams and working with students who are disabled. Coach Tristan has plans to work with administrators in the future to have his football program impact other schools in a broader way. I am excited to see the impact that Coach Tristan’s football program will make in the future!
One unique thing that the Glendale football program does is they have a Gap Group. Each group has a stretch line leader and is responsible for holding each other accountable. This allows for leaders to grow within a small group and help develop them to be leaders of larger groups down the road. Also, creates a team brotherhood that bonds each other together.
When opposing teams come to Glendale for their game there are many different factors that they must endure during their game. One of the largest factors is that Glendale has a wonderful student following. They make playing at Glendale very tough on opposing teams because of their intensity during the game. This is because they have assigned student leaders within the loud crowd to keep the intensity flowing throughout the game. Additionally, what makes it tough to come to Glendale is the facility that the opposing teams dress and change in will require them to walk through the crowd on their way to the field. While this doesn’t seem like much it does add an additional distraction to just playing the game.
What excites me the most about Glendale high school football is the change that is occurring. There is no doubt that the future is bright for Glendale Football. Coach Tristan is focusing on more than just gridiron play it is the developing better people and citizens that will pay dividends to the future of the program and our society. I am excited to watch this program develop and grow into a successful program!
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