By: Austin Mendes
ROCHESTER, MA -
Old Colony opened their 2021 Fall season on Friday, August 20. This practice was a majority conditioning, with very minimal contact. The coaches got to take a look at what they had to work with heading into the season.
It emerged early in the practice that this team has a competitive atmosphere. The seniors and veteran varsity players were pushing the up and coming players to get the most out of them. The team endured physically challenging exercises and conditioning, each player pushed their hardest, everyone got better with their work ethic.
The Cougars condition on the practice field overlooking Oliveira Field.
Players got to showcase their skills later on in the practice at the positions they are determined to play this year. Along with this, the coaches conditioned the minds of the players with the amount of head work thrown at them to open the season.
Cougar Quarterbacks; Junior Matt McGuiggan(Left) and Sophomore Matt Pitts(Right) warm up.
Sophomore QB Matt Pitts awaits a pass from Junior QB Matt McGuiggan
Players were put into groups both offensively and defensively to build up team chemistry and practice their positions.
Quarterback Matt McGuiggan calls cadences as Head Coach Brandon Mendez observes.
Quarterbacks McGuiggan (Right) and Pitts (Left) call plays from a huddle prior to a drill.
Coaches go over head work with the box 6.
The Cougars finished practice with more conditioning in preparation for the upcoming season.
Players come together before proceeding to next conditioning station.
Players condition at the end of practice with Coach Sam Botelho.
Following the practice, I got to interview head coach Brandon Mendez and Quarterback Matthew McGuiggan about their outlook on the season ahead along with their goals.
Interview with Head Coach Brandon Mendez:
Q: What are you most excited for in this upcoming season?
A: "I'm excited to compete in a regular season with a really solid young core, with a lot of experience at the top. We're going to be a competitive team, with a strong bond, that's going to be competitive in every game we play..."
Q: With a young, but experienced team, who are you going to look towards being a leader and why?
A: "A lot of times, the leaders stand out. We'll certainly depend on our senior leadership, as we do every year, but that doesn't limit anyone else from standing out. Today for example, we saw a bunch of underclassmen do a lot of good things, juniors and sophomores included. It's really going to be those guys who stand out, and want to lead. People follow and do the right things. It's not always about being vocal, it's about doing things the right way and standing out."
Q: What is the difference between this year and last year's team, through what you've seen so far?"
A: "Last year's team had a little bit more top end experience with some tenured varsity players, who had extensive varsity time, or who were programmed system players, that were dedicated to the system all along. This team is less experienced, as a whole, but has a lot more depth than that team had. So, what we lacked in depth, we had in senior leadership. Now, we have a lot more depth, with less experience."
My Take: As a former player under Coach Mendez, he is the type of coach students love to play under. He, along with the entire coaching staff, is well respected by the players. Coach Mendez knows how to get the most out of his players while also the players having fun and creating memories at the high school level. I have no doubt that Coach can lead this team to a successful season, as he has done in years past.
Interview with Junior Quarterback Matt McGuiggan:
Q: What do you believe is different between this year's team and last year's team?
A: "We've lost some of the four best seniors that I've had a chance to play with, and I think we had [with those leaders], we had a lot of heart. I think now, we need a couple more kids to step up that have that heart..."
Q: What are most excited for with this year's team?
A: "We got a lot of younger kids, with a lot of talent that they should have some really good seasons ahead of them. I think this year and next year they really could shine if they worked at it."
Q: "With a new offensive coordinator this year, how do you plan to adapt to the change?"
A: "I loved Coach [Zach] Botelho, he was one of my favorite coaches ever, but, I'm happy for him that he's at Whitman [Hanson]. I had Coach [Bryan] Sylvia my freshman year, and he was a really good coach, so I think he'll step up and do his thing."
Q: "What is your personal goal for this year?
A: "I think my 7v7 coach (Former OC QB Jack Murphy) over the summer, he has the most touchdown passes in school history, I think it's a personal competition between me and him that I'm going for this year."
Q: "What is your goal for the team?"
A: "I want to get as far as we can into the season, as much games as we can possibly play, and I just want to win as much as we possibly can."
My Take: As a close friend of Matt's and a former teammate of his, I have no doubt that Matt will be able to adapt to the change at offensive coordinator. Matt is a very knowledgeable, hard working player. He is the type of person that, when he has a goal on his mind, he will do everything he can in his power to work towards the goal and accomplish it. Matt is a very talented player who has a good head on his shoulders and is very down to earth. Old Colony is in great hands with him as the signal caller.
The Cougars have their first scrimmage Saturday, August 28th at Nauset High School. I will be unable to attend the scrimmage as I move into Nichols College on Thursday. Good Luck Cougars!
Thank you for taking your time to read this article!
If you have comments, questions, suggestions or anything please feel free to reach out to me! My contact information can be found in the "About" section of this website. I'd love to hear from you!
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