CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle football team recently passed the halfway point of their spring football season, with first year head coach Raymond Monica and the coaching staff looking to lay down a foundation for 2022 and beyond. The spring training scheduled kicked off in mid-March and continues through the end of next week, with a final practice scheduled for Saturday, April 23.
 
In most years, the work in the spring focuses on the fundamental building blocks, technique and conditioning most prominently. The 2022 spring season carries added importance, though, as it is also the first opportunity for Monica and his new coordinators – offensive coordinator Pete Collins and defensive coordinator Josh Hager – to install their respective schemes.
 
"We've been implementing new schematics on offense, defense and special teams really since day one," Monica said. "Once you have your base offense, base defense and your special teams systems in place, you can start to build off that based on the talent you have on hand.
 
"Defensively, you try and figure out what kind of coverages you can use, when you jump into each package," Monica said. "Offensively, we ask ourselves if our personnel leads us to be more pass heavy, or run heavy, and how to balance things out. Having Pete [Collins] and Josh [Hager] and their many years of experience here helps tremendously in that."
 
Monica lauded the players early on for their work ethic and determination, saying "they're doing everything we've asked of them" to this point of the spring. But the hurdles are not just confined to learning X's and O's. Toughness – physical and mental – has been tested at times due to variable weather conditions in early spring. While maybe not ideal for spectators, it gives the coaching staff the ability to gauge how the players will respond to the elements, especially late in the season.
 
"There was one day where a squall came through, really made it hard to see," Monica said. "I'm really looking for a day where it's cold, maybe sleeting or raining. At some point in the season we will need to play and perform in those conditions, and I want to see how we respond to those challenges. 
As the spring season winds down to a close, though, the onus will move from the coaching staff to the players, as the team heads home for the offseason before returning in late summer. According to Monica, some of the biggest strides must be made in the times when the players are holding themselves accountable.
 
"Our expectation for the summer is simple: do something to make yourself the best you can be," Monica said. "If they're not doing that, they'll be the first to know it, because at the end of the day they're the one that has to look in the mirror."