Iowa Preps Article

This was posted on Iowa Preps yesterday so I copied it to the blog. They spelled Kyle's name wrong but it is always nice to see the coach mention your name in pre-season interviews. Hopefully will be another good Wapsie football year!

Wapsie Valley Spring Football Preview

After playing in the last two Class A title games and winning it all this fall, Wapsie Valley has shown that they can compete on a very high level. But with the majority of their skill players set to graduate soon, the Warriors have a lot of open spots on their team. Iowa Preps caught up with Wapsie Valley head football coach Tony Foster and talked to him about his team, their off-season, and much more now!

How has the off-season been going for your team?
"We have a lot of guys out for track and we encourage that. We have a few kids in the weight room but most of them are in track and baseball has started now. The best thing is that we had kids out for basketball or wrestling and now track. That is a good sign usually. We have a lot of young kids that haven't played before."

How important do you think it is for athletes to play multiple sports?
"We really encourage it. When we look back at the few years that we have struggled, we didn't have much of a track team. Last year, we won district track. For us, that is the most important thing. We do encourage weights and we have a weight program but getting them out for track is most important."

What are your thoughts on the team for this fall?
"I hope that we can improve as the year goes on and be pretty competitive. We start out with Turkey Valley and they'll give us all that we want. As the year goes on, I think by the end of the season we should be pretty competitive. In our district, Postville looks like they have a nice team and Lisbon is always good. I don't expect us to be rated or anything like that."

What will be your team's main strengths?
"I think we are going to have some speed on defense. We have some young guys. The sophomore team was pretty darn good last year. We have some size with Zach Schmidt. He will be a junior and he started every game at tackle and defensive end. We have a couple of other younger linemen that will be decent when they get some playing time."

What question marks will need to be answered?
"Offensively, we are just starting all over with skill positions. We will be trying to get some continuity there. It looks like there will be competition for some of the backfield spots. We also need to see how it goes with Ethan and his knee. We need to see how he comes along. He is walking now but he still has a long way to go. I hate to make predictions on that."

How hard is it replacing some of the skill players that you lost?
"You don't replace Garrett McGrane. He is one of a kind. We have our backup quarterback, Kyle O'Neil, and he played some receiver and cornerback for us. He is capable and I expect him to do a good job for us. We got some young guys that want to run the football. I will give them a shot and see what they can do. The good thing is that there is competition for the skill positions. Outside of Kyle at quarterback, nothing is locked down there."

How many starters do you have returning on both sides of the ball?
"From the championship game, we have three on offense. Defensively, we have a little more with four. That is not a lot but we do have kids that like to play football. There are some unknown players that will be known eventually. A lot of them will just be juniors. In two years, they will be at their best."

Do you have a target on your back from winning a title?
"There was one last year. We were second the year before. It is just a matter if you are good enough to overcome it. If you are, you will win. It just comes down to if you have the kids who can make plays."

What are the keys to a long postseason run?
"I think we are going to be a decent defensive team. I think we have some speed on defense and that can carry us until we get some continuity on offense. If we can improve during the year on offense, we have a shot to get into the postseason. If we have injuries, it is hard to overcome in Class A football."

How do you feel about the playoff expansion?
"I am all for it. I realize there are going to be some mismatches in the first round but coaches work awfully hard to just miss it. Last year Valley was good enough but they didn't make it. It is tough enough on coaches, especially if you are 7-2. I just assume a team like Valley should get in. They can reward the coaches and the players."