SLIPPERY ROCK — It's a yearly tradition in the Slippery Rock High football locker room.

Players bust a move in a dance competition in which the winner gets the adulation of his peers.

Only this year, Rockets head football coach Clyde Conti nearly entered the fray.

That's because his young stable of assistant coaches has given Conti, a 27-year veteran of the football wars, a renewed hop in his step.

"They have energized me," Conti said. "They don't know this, but I was very close to going out there and winning that contest."

Conti and his football team have had to dance around lack of speed, injuries and a tough new region the last few seasons. The team started 2005 with an 0-4 record and last year began 0-5. The team nearly made the playoffs both times.

The hope in Rocket Nation is the youthful team will be inspired by the youthful coaching staff — and its spry head coach.

Bud Sarver is the only holdover from the staff Conti put together five seasons ago when he took over at Slippery Rock.

This year, he has former Rockets player David Bauer, 19, Kent Uber, who played for Grove City in the 2004 PIAA Class AA championship game, Brad Sopic and BillShepardson.

Conti has been coaching high school football longer than four of his five assistants have been alive.

"They mesh well together," Conti said. "Our guys will feed off of that. They've played deep into the month of November, some intoDecember. I feel very fortunate to have these guys.

"My wife told me to enjoy these guys this season."

Bauer was hoping to play football at Westminster College, but injuries — including one to his shoulder that required surgery — have ended his career for the time being. Bauer said always has been interested in coaching, and phoned Conti to see if he could help with the team.

"David was looking to maybe move some cones around, but he ended up with a paid position," Conti said. He's one of my own and that's special."

Bauer coaches the running backs and the secondary, and Slippery Rock's deepest area might be in the backfield.

J.R. Thompson returns from an ankle injury he suffered on the second play of the season opener last year. RyanFerguson is back at fullback and Jonathan Powell returns at quarterback, where he showed off his passing and running ability during the Rockets' playoff push.

Bauer has seen Conti rejuvenated this season.

"He lets us have free reign of how we run drills," Bauer said. "We've taken some of the responsibility off of him.

"All the young coaches — we are going to be really excited before a game, almost like we are getting ready to play. Maybe it will make (the players) realize they are pretty lucky to play football inWestern Pennsylvania."

Conti said he is lucky to have such exuberance on his staff.

He already has seen some of the dividends.

"Kids are not stupid nowadays," Conti said. "They know when someone is out there who cares about them and who's out there to pad a retirement and get a paycheck. I want to surround myself with people who are fun and positive."

Camp has not been without its problems as injuries have taken a toll on an already thin teams. Slippery Rock gets Thompson back, but they lost fullback and linebacker Jesse Kniess for the season.

The team also lacks speed — but that's nothing new for the Rockets, who have found ways to compensate in the past.

Conti plans to compensate for that this season with good old fashioned aggression.

"I'd like to see us be a little more aggressive," Conti said. "I think if you want to win in a team sport, you better play well collectively and you better play good team defense. You don't throw buttons on and off on that intensity."

With a young staff surrounding him, Conti is hopeful his team can grab a few early wins.

"I just want our guys to go out there and play hard and enjoy what you have," Conti said.