It’s August. The time when students start to think about going back to school and the football season starts. The time when seniors hope to accomplish their goal of winning a state championship. Except that didn’t happen this year for GHS football players. There was no season in the fall this year, as it was pushed to the spring, which is a new challenge for the team but one that they feel they can handle. 

Head Football coach Rob Stoltz is going into his 20th season and is looking forward to the challenge that spring football will bring. “Once you understand that it is a new situation then it’s up to you as a team to come together to common ground and understand that the situation is what it is. You have to do what is absolutely necessary to come out on top and make the best out of a new situation,” he said. “So it’s no different than it being a new challenge, just like you face new challenges all the time. The unique thing about this is we never played football in the spring.” 

Senior Max Steele sees the move to spring as a new opportunity for him and his teammates. “I believe that playing in the spring will make the team the strongest and most together we have ever been,” he said.  “It has given us extra time in the weight room, and the extra time to grow bonds with each other is only better for us come spring time.” 

There have been numerous benchmarks and gains made in the weightroom with the extended offseason. “I reached a few goals of mine in the weight room. The one I was happiest about was hitting 250 for one rep on the bench press,” junior Danny Hanlon said. “I try to stay motivated by picturing myself playing in the spring and by reminding myself spring is coming.” 

Junior Will Vaile hopes that this season will end on a high note.“The way we ended last year was not the way I would’ve liked and I just want to get back out there and compete,” he said.

There have been some worries about the move to spring. Would athletes who play multiple sports be able to play a spring sort as well as football? Coach Stoltz stated it is absolutely possible. “So athletes that are in a spring sport will absolutely be able to do both. How that is going to work is anyone’s guess at this point,” he said. “Football is unique in a sense that just about all the positions in football require a great deal of scheme preparation and understanding. Whereas some other sports don’t have the same extent of learning that’s involved.”

Stoltz is confident that they can make it work.  “I’m pretty confident that we will be able to make it all work but what it will look like is going to be a work in progress, and if all parties involved try to approach it with an open mind and just try to understand we all are trying to give kids the best opportunities and experiences possible with that as a guiding principle I think all will work out,” he said.

Vaile stated he is up for the challenge of playing both football and baseball. “I’m excited for it because I haven’t competed since this past summer and competing is my favorite thing in the world and I’ll get a long time of competition and I’m excited to enjoy it,” he said.

So the initial move to spring may have been hard to hear for many at first, but it looks like the Greendale Football team is ready to go when March 26 comes around for their first game against South Milwaukee.