After guiding FSU into a 1-9 record last year, “Trying to get back to our great football tradition and rebuild the school spirit is our ultimate goal” said Tom Rogish, the head coach of Frostburg State University’s football team. But how far away is a goal for a team that has won only three games in the past four seasons? What factors could have caused this “curse”? More importantly, what could it take to bring the Bobcats closer to their goal? This season, the football team continues to stay motivated and work their butts off for more wins to bring home, but football player number 89 Tejiri Erhie, mournfully says “Right now, we are doing terrible. Were about the same as last year, no progress.”
The Frostburg football coaches have a lot of faith in their team. When talking about the team’s record, Coach William Jackson said, “It could be better, but I know they are working hard and that is all that I ask for.” Coach Jackson and Rogish both stressed the fact that the team was playing a very hard division 3 schedule. “They played 5 teams who were top 25 in the nation” said Rogish.
“There are a lot of freshmen on our team who are new to the college football experience, playing against teams with a lot of experienced upper classmen” Coach Jackson explained. FSU’s football team this year carried a number of 54 freshmen on their football team, out of 95 students.
With such a tough schedule, the team is prepared by having hard practices Monday through Friday, and sometimes Saturday. They also have film studying and breakdowns of recorded practices and games, as well as their upcoming opponent’s games. And when it comes down to choosing who gets to start in a game, it is determined by “Production, and whoever works the hardest at practice,” says Coach Rogish. “It’s like a competition.”
Although the coaches are the ones who dictate the team, there is no better source to find out what really goes on during football games and within the team than a football player himself. Like his coaches, football player Marcus Wilson, a junior defensive corner back who has played all 3 years that he has spent at Frostburg, shares that his team has a very tough D-3 schedule. For example, the Bobcats lost against Wesley College with a score of 0-47. Wesley College is undefeated with a record of 9-0 and will be competing in the NCAA championship, Nov. 20 2010. Some of the other teams that have gave Frostburg a loss this season are Geneva College with a record of 5-5, Salisbury State University 7-2, and St. John Fisher College 8-2. These are very good records, considering Frostburg only has won 2 games this season. Wilson believes that this has a big impact on the amount of games that they have competed in.
When it comes to improving the team, Wilson says, “As a team, we could have a much stronger bond.” After going into a little more detail about what Marcus thinks could help improve the team, he also shared that if it were his way he would “recruit some more lineman.”
However, football player Rashad James, also a junior defensive corner back who has played all three years, expresses his opinion on improvement by sharing that “Using the best people at the best positions, we have enough talent that is not being used.” Both Wilson and James agreed that there is a lot of potential and talent on the team.
But another flaw of the team pointed is out by Rashad James; “People try to be their own superstars sometimes, instead of just having faith in each other.”
Ehrie, James, and Wilson all expressed that the team has a lack of a bond. They believe that if the team were a little bit closer together, it would improve the way they play. If he could change one thing, Tejiri Erhie, a sophomore wide receiver, said “I would try to get the players to become a family.”
“More fans supporting us could help us do better,” says Erhie. Wilson and James also agreed that fans and school spirit affect the way the team performs. For a team that doesn’t win many games, motivation is hard to maintain without fans and school spirit. But the Bobcats continue to stay motivated. In fact, criticism and teasing is nothing new to these fellows, as they are used to putting up with it. Some of the football players allow it to affect them in a negative way, but some let them affect them in a more positive way. When addressing the teasing and criticism, Rashad James said, “People tease us because they don’t understand how hard we play and how close the games usually are, they just tease us about losing or the final score.” And as a loyal football player would, Marcus Wilson makes the best of the negative criticism, and says “Sometimes I get angry, but it motivates me.”
There was no hesitation when all of the athletes expressed that the love for the game is what keeps them motivated the most. Their love for the sport is what keeps them focused to work hard at practices and to continue to play for the team. Their passion for the sport keeps them around to put up with the people who criticize and tease them. “It’s just D-3 football. Anybody who sticks it in for this long when we don’t win any games has to love it, I love football.” James said passionately. “The love for the game,” Wilson said, is what keeps him around. Erhie gave just about the same answer, “I love football, I love watching and I love playing.” All three of them plan to play again next season.
As the football players would like to make an improvement, the students on campus still look forward to seeing one. Many students are very supportive and still have hope for the Bobcats, but some students have given up on the team and stopped attending games. In fact, a lot of students agreed that they would go to games if the football team won more often. Jess Brown, a junior and history major, expressed that she would attend more football games if they won more often. “I only went to the games because my friends were going. If they had a better record, then I would have another reason to go more often.”
Another student, Allison Meads, who has attended only one football game, says, “I like football, but I can’t support a team who doesn’t win any games.” But she did agree that if they won more games she would go and watch. This shows that the football team has a big impact on the amount of school spirit, but it could possibly go both ways.
Although students have said that the football teams performance puts a hindrance on the amount of school spirit FSU has, there are still other sports at FSU that help bring the students close together. The women’s volleyball team accomplished an amazing overall record of 34-4. The men’s basketball team in 2009 finished with a 17-10 record. Many other sports teams are known for their good turn outs.
Frostburg students underestimate the Bobcat football team to a great extent. Although students have such high expectations for the team, they fail to realize their attendance could improve the team’s performance.
At the Frostburg homecoming game against Apprentice College, there was a surprising turn out of the amount of students that came out to support Frostburg on that cold snowy day. With all of the support, Frostburg took home a win, with a close finishing score of 25-20.
Coach Rogish and Coach Jackson, as well as the football players, all agreed that school spirit and fans do help. “Anybody would love to go to their own game and see a big crowd,” Coach Jackson says. If students were to be more supportive and attend more games, they might possibly see a difference in the way their Bobcat football team plays.
So now it is pretty obvious that Frostburg State University’s football team faces many obstacles, not only as individuals, but as a team. They are often misunderstood and misjudged, struggle to keep their motivation, and play a hard schedule. They think they have a lack of a strong team bond, but it has been said by their very own Coach Rogish, “At the end of the day they win together and they lose together”. Whether they overcome these obstacles or not they still deserve more than respect for their hard work and effort. Although they haven’t been the most successful in winning games, they are successful in staying motivated to reach their goals. Go Bobcats!
No comments:
Post a Comment