UPside of Life: Don't panic!

One of the aspects of football that I spoke about in an earlier column is overcoming adversity. That can come in the form of trailing in a game, or an injury to a key player or, like last week, a 52-0 drubbing from your opponent.

It was a tough pill to swallow, that's for sure. Heading into the game against Superior Central, the coaching staff honestly believed we had a chance to compete with the Cougars, who are one of the top-ranked teams in eight-man football. Unfortunately, it seemed like the players didn't have the same optimistic outlook that we did and we trailed 26-0 at half and continued to falter and fail through the remainder of the game.

There aren't a lot of positive things to be said about the game, but there are a lot of lessons that were learned and will be taught because of it. That's pretty much the best thing about adversity--it gives the opportunity to learn and become better.

With a 2-2 record, there's nothing to panic about. Heck, some of the best programs in the entire state are 2-2 right now (Detroit Catholic Central, last year's Division I state runner-up, is one of them). We have plenty of season left ahead of us to continue to improve and surge forward. A 6-3 record would be nothing to scoff at and would be welcomed with open arms by a coaching staff and a program that went 8-2 last year.

But the wins aren't just going to be handed to us, and attitude is everything. So, as a staff, we'll be working on increasing the team's confidence through drilling, film and preparation for our next game. We're on the road, taking a bus to Three Lakes, Wis. this Friday to take on the Bluebirds (who are 1-1 right now).

We're reminding players about their responsibilities, we've discussed mental breakdowns and we've talked with individuals who may not have brought the best outlook to the game. And we're far from finished. Play recognition is on the agenda, as is the importance of working as a unit and not as a single player. We're fine tuning an offense that has shown signs of brilliance while tweaking a defense to make sure we don't have a blunder like we did last week.

In high school football, I'm coming to discover, the hard work really is never done. The teaching never stops. The rises and falls of wins and losses never quit being as emotional as back when I was the one being instructed and taught.

I know our football team has much more capability than they seem to think we do, and by helping coach Jeremy Herman and assistant coach Ron Koski, I know I can help them reach some of the potential they just don't see.

We're 2-2 and we can be so much more. In fact, we're going to be. Starting now. Starting this week. Starting with a win in Wisconsin.

Nobody is ready to panic. In fact, we're just getting the season started.

Sam Eggleston is the managing editor of U.P. Second Wave and assistant football coach at Mid Peninsula High School. He played football for the Wolverines all four years of his high school career and proudly bleeds orange and white to this day. He can be reached via email.