Trojans Applying Lessons From Two Strong Seasons
August 21, 2019 at 8:02 p.m.
Trojans Applying Lessons From Two Strong Seasons
By Mark Howe-
Ron Brown led the Trojans during those seasons, and former head coach Rodney Younis stepped back into the position he held as recently as the 2012 season. He decided to retake the head coaching position after working as an assistant under Brown, in part to keep the momentum of the last two seasons going.
“Well, we wanted the continuity,” Younis said. “I've been here at Triton for 18 years, and for 16 of those years I've been a coach in the program somewhere. When Coach (Ron) Brown decided to leave, I felt like it was best for our players if I stayed with it, and that way we can just keep going with what we've been doing.
To that end, the playbook won’t be an overhaul under Younis, but rather a series of tweaks.
:This year's seniors have been a big part of the success we've had the last couple of years. We've had a number of players who were so instrumental, and the younger kids have learned from them,” said the head coach. “This year's team is eager; they know this is their opportunity now, and they are excited to keep this thing going.
“It's all about our personnel. We look at that first. I've ran the offense the last four years, and so obviously the offense isn't going to be changing too much. We'll tweak it to go with the kids we have this year.
“Defensively, we brought in Seth Whitaker as our new defensive coordinator, and he's bringing in a multiple 40-look defense.
Among the players looking to make an impact is senior quarterback Connor Pitney, who served as backup to James “Bo” Snyder the last two years.
“Connor is more than capable; I feel that if he'd have played at a lot of other schools he'd have been a starter in the last year or two. It's just that here he happened to be behind Bo,” Younis said. “We're excited about what he brings; great leadership, a strong work ethic, and the kids really like him and are going to play hard with him.”
While winning cures many ills, it’s not a be-all, end-all thing for Younis and the Trojans.
“I always define success by how our kids work. It doesn't matter about the scoreboard; that's the last thing you look at to define success. It's about becoming a man, taking care of business in the classroom, taking care of each other and playing together as a brotherhood and always knowing you're representing your family, your school and your teammates,” he said.
“We always want to do that in a class act way and we want people to know when they came to watch us play or played against us that they saw us play with a lot of heart and a lot of effort.”
Triton opens the season at home Friday, hosting South Central.
Ron Brown led the Trojans during those seasons, and former head coach Rodney Younis stepped back into the position he held as recently as the 2012 season. He decided to retake the head coaching position after working as an assistant under Brown, in part to keep the momentum of the last two seasons going.
“Well, we wanted the continuity,” Younis said. “I've been here at Triton for 18 years, and for 16 of those years I've been a coach in the program somewhere. When Coach (Ron) Brown decided to leave, I felt like it was best for our players if I stayed with it, and that way we can just keep going with what we've been doing.
To that end, the playbook won’t be an overhaul under Younis, but rather a series of tweaks.
:This year's seniors have been a big part of the success we've had the last couple of years. We've had a number of players who were so instrumental, and the younger kids have learned from them,” said the head coach. “This year's team is eager; they know this is their opportunity now, and they are excited to keep this thing going.
“It's all about our personnel. We look at that first. I've ran the offense the last four years, and so obviously the offense isn't going to be changing too much. We'll tweak it to go with the kids we have this year.
“Defensively, we brought in Seth Whitaker as our new defensive coordinator, and he's bringing in a multiple 40-look defense.
Among the players looking to make an impact is senior quarterback Connor Pitney, who served as backup to James “Bo” Snyder the last two years.
“Connor is more than capable; I feel that if he'd have played at a lot of other schools he'd have been a starter in the last year or two. It's just that here he happened to be behind Bo,” Younis said. “We're excited about what he brings; great leadership, a strong work ethic, and the kids really like him and are going to play hard with him.”
While winning cures many ills, it’s not a be-all, end-all thing for Younis and the Trojans.
“I always define success by how our kids work. It doesn't matter about the scoreboard; that's the last thing you look at to define success. It's about becoming a man, taking care of business in the classroom, taking care of each other and playing together as a brotherhood and always knowing you're representing your family, your school and your teammates,” he said.
“We always want to do that in a class act way and we want people to know when they came to watch us play or played against us that they saw us play with a lot of heart and a lot of effort.”
Triton opens the season at home Friday, hosting South Central.
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