Numbers Game
CHERRY TWP — It's just a number.
That's the attitude Bob Rottman and the Moniteau football team is taking when it comes to the size of their varsity roster.
The Warriors will have 24 suiting up for a Friday night.
But while there may be a lack in quantity, Rottman feels like they make up for it in quality.
“I look at our roster and we have 24 kids, but you've been on teams before where you have 35 kids, but maybe you look at 10 of them not being able to contribute on a Friday night,” Rottman said. “I look at that roster of 24 kids and I can see every one of them getting into a game on a Friday night and helping.”
If there is a concern, it's the fact that there are only three sophomores on the roster.
That's a dangerously low number for a program.
But Rottman said that is mitigated by a robust junior high class that will be coming up in a few seasons.
Rottman and his staff have tried to engage the kids at the lower levels to try to keep them interested and involved.
“This year we started our youth day,” Rottman said. “Our youth teams came to the high school and we met with the youth coaches through all levels. We're trying to get them to run what we run at the varsity level all the way down through the youth levels and the coaches have been really receptive. We took our plays and we ran our plays with the youth. The kids were pretty excited.”
It's not like low numbers are new for Moniteau.
Last year, the program had just 26 players and went 7-5, coming a whisper away from reaching the District 9 Class AA title game.
Part of the reason why Moniteau got the most out of its 26 players was a remarkable run of health.
Only one player missed more than one game because of injury.
Rottman thinks the key to that is the way the team conditions and practices.
“I'm a big believer that conditioning and being aggressive on the field will limit the amount of injuries during a game and throughout the season,” Rottman said.
Senior Nick Martino believes the same.
The running back/linebacker is one of the most physically imposing players on the roster at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds.
He isn't afraid to mix it up on offense or defense.
“Either way, I'm trying to dish out as much punishment as I can,” Martino said.
“I think conditioning and even hitting drills in practice have played an important role,” Martino added. “When you're in shape and you're used to getting hit, you know what's an injury and what's something you can just suck it up and play through. You really know your limits more when you're running hard and hitting hard in practice.”
Rottman hopes the team will be blessed again with minimal injuries in 2019.
No matter what happens, Rottman said the low numbers won't be used as a crutch.
“We're not looking at it as an excuse not to do well this season,” Rottman said. “We're kind of using it as fuel to be more of a tight-knit family brotherhood football team. And the kids buy into it and I think that helps us a lot. By the end of camp, these guys are pretty tight.”
