It’s been a rough season for the Central Kitsap Varsity football team. The record for the season is 1-8. The coaches on the team Mark Keel, and Eric Schuette have a lot to say about their thoughts on it. 

The Varsity team this year has had many clear struggles “It’s a combination of things, I think we’re in a competitive league so have some really good teams, and I think we have to do a better job of focusing as group or as a team and be more consistent and are good plays versus making mental errors and mental mistakes,” said Keel. 

The coaches had different views on the struggles, Keel went for more of a mental struggle with the players. Schuette however believes the struggles have to do more with skill and experience

“Our quarterback as a sophomore has zero varsity experience, so it’s not a surprise,” said Schuette.

The team in previous years was made of mostly seniors so when graduation came and we lost them the team had to make due with what they had. While the team still had their juniors they didn’t have enough to fill all the spots, making due with what they had they took sophomores and tried to prepare them for the varsity experience.

Even while having these struggles it’s clear that the coaches wanted to try and help work around the problems. “I think the biggest thing we’re doing is just trying to keep everybody positive and in a good frame of mind and keep everybody competitive,” said Keel.

Keeping positivity is very important when it comes to playing sports, a good attitude can change the game. A good mindset will keep the players hoping that they are going to win the game. If you have a poor mindset you are likely to play poorly and bring down your team. 

The team has had some setbacks that have affected the way the team has performed this season. “The biggest setback is, you know, Cooper Hall was our senior running back going into the season that was like okay, this is going to be our biggest offensive production if we have any day,” said Schuette. “So really relying on him to be the person who had experience and it was going to generate a lot of offense for us and then he got hurt in the game.” 

An experienced running back is a big part of having a good football team, losing that can take a lot away from the team. Teamwork is a big part of playing football well and when one of your better players is injured and can’t play it will impact your team. Football is a very intense game that requires a ton of communication and cooperation and having both of those be strong values your team cares about is important.

The season has come to a close and most people aren’t satisfied with how it went .

“Well, no because of our record, that’s not satisfying at all,” said Keel. “You know, with a season like this, I wish we could play until we, you know, won seven games in a row. But that’s not the case. So no, I’m not. I’m not satisfied with this season at all,” 

 “Satisfied no, and, you know, it’s  less about the I don’t know it’s been frustrating, probably because of the wins and losses,” said Schuette.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Mateo Hays

The CKHS Footabll Team playing their home game