Conditioning essential for 2017, Coast Union football coach says

Head football coach Thom Holt is expecting the players who came out for the team this fall — and who will play in 2017 — to put in the preparation work, including conditioning, by showing up eager to work in the offseason.

What Holt doesn’t want is a repeat of this past season, during which many players came out late and without football knowledge or experience.

Holt expects the seven starters on offense and the seven starters on defense — who got a late start but nonetheless put together a 2-2 record in the Coast Valley League — to form the core of the 2017 squad.

“It could be a special year, but only if they put in the work during the offseason,” the coach explained in an email interview.

In fact, in addition to the first string on offense and defense, he expects all the freshmen, sophomores and juniors who played in 2016 to attend workouts beginning in March.

“Some of the players are in the weight room after school right now,” Holt said.

The coach is encouraged about the possibility of the Santa Lucia Middle School becoming a valuable feeder program for the high school, by adding a 7-on-7 flag football program.

Holt is urging the Coast Unified School District to get behind a flag football program, so when kids get into high school and wish to play football, they already have some practical knowledge of how the game is played.

He also hopes to bring back the passing tournament that Coast Union used to host, which builds skills and raises funds by bringing in several high schools to participate.

At the end of the day, the coach asserted, “Champions are made in the offseason.”

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 9:24 AM with the headline "Conditioning essential for 2017, Coast Union football coach says."