SLIPPERY ROCK — Travis Sarver is cognizant of the special situation he is in as the Slippery Rock High football coach.

But he doesn't dwell on it.

“It is special, but I've been around the game long enough that it's just camp again,” Sarver said. “It's camp. Camp is camp. I grew up coming to football camp. I've been around it a lot. Yeah, I'm the head coach, but it's not a whole lot different.”

And that is the key.

Familiarity breeds success in high school football.

Sarver grew up in Slippery Rock. Played for the Rockets. Played in college across the street at Slippery Rock University and joined the coaching staff at Slippery Rock High under former head football coach Brendan Hathaway before ascending to the top spot when Hathaway left to coach at Moon.

Most of the assistant coaches are the same and the offense and defense will largely remain unchanged.

The players know Sarver and Sarver knows the players.

“Coach Sarver, he can relate to us,” said senior Ryan Lauster. “He's played here. He's coached here. We're definitely confident with the coaches we have here.”

Slippery Rock had a revolving door at coach before Hathaway arrived.

When Clyde Conti left following a run to the District 10 Class AA title game in 2008 after seven years of stability, Joe Lamenza was hired, but abruptly quit several months later. Glenn Hazlett filled in admirably on a interim basis, but the program was in a state of flux.

And the record showed it.

After some growing pains in his first season, Hathaway established Slippery Rock as a District 10 power.

And now Sarver is determined to keep that going.

“There's always an adjustment when there's a coaching changed, but not as much when the coach was already on the staff and the staff is mostly the same,” Sarver said. “They know what to expect from their coach.”

Sarver has seen first hand the tribulations of being a coach.

His father, Bud Sarver, served as an assistant coach in the program for more than two decades.

Travis Sarver said he is fortunate to have his ear now during his first season as the head coach.

“When he was coaching when I was little, I was always at the field,” Sarver said. “Just being around the game for so long has really helped me. And I have someone to talk to if I need it.”

Slippery Rock has also kept the offense and defense roughly the same all the way down through the junior varsity and junior high programs.

Sarver said that is more difficult than it seems.

“It's always a work in progress with that,” Sarver said. “We're doing what we can. If they have the base offense down by the time they get up here, you can spend more time on the new stuff you want to add and you always have the base to fall back on. People don't realize how much work it takes to get that set up from the bottom all the way to the top. But if you can get it done, it's very helpful.”

Sarver has seen what continuity can do for a high school football program.

“We had a 7-on-7 at Grove City High School against a lot of the teams we'll play this year,” Sarver said. “You look at those programs and you look at their coaching staffs, the Greenvilles, the Sharons, the Hickorys, the Wilmingtons — they all have alumni who coach for them. It puts a sense of pride into the program and it's definitely a positive.”