Under the new leadership of head coach Andrew Stuckert, the Talawanda varsity football team is strengthening its chemistry while simultaneously adding as many new players as possible to the mix.
New recruits were a big part of the team’s last win on Sept. 15, Stuckert said. Some players were brand new to Talawanda football, but not all of them.
AJ Hainline, a senior wide receiver, took a break from football after his eighth-grade season. He joined the high school team for his senior year after
talking with Stuckert.
“When I went to talk to him about playing he convinced me,” Hainline said. “He told me about all the changes he made and I thought it sounded like a great opportunity.”
Stuckert said the roster for the high school team dwindled down to the 40s last year. Today, more than 60 students participated. “The biggest thing was recruiting the hallways of the school,” he said.“We knew there were some athletes in there that just hadn’t been playing.”TA
While the team has faced a tough season so far, Stuckert is optimistic about the improvement that he hopes to see from this team coming off their first win of the season. The team’s record now stands at 1-5.
The Talawanda varsity football team pulled out a 37-21 win on Sept. 15 against the Carroll Patriots. They followed their win with a loss against Fort Loramie on Sept. 22 with a score of 34-19.
“We’re just kind of taking our lumps sometimes because we’re young and inconsistent,” Stuckert said. “But we’ve got a bunch of kids who can play.”
Stuckert was named the head coach of Talawanda varsity football in February. The Butler County native came to Talawanda from New Miami, where he led their team to its first ever playoff game.
Stuckert said that accepting the coaching position was easy. The proximity to his hometown was a huge deciding factor.
“I’m a Butler County guy, I grew up in Fairfield, I’ve played in Fairfield and I own a business in Fairfield,” he said.
Being from the area, Talawanda was always a part of his football career.
“I was up here on Friday nights playing against Talawanda and seeing the beautiful facilities, seeing the crowd out at their home games and some really good teams that have come through,” Stuckert said.
Wyatt Jones, a senior offensive lineman for Talawanda said that having a new coach was surprisingly easy.
“I feel like the whole team has bonded really well with all of the coaches,” Jones said. “Stuckert made the new coach transition pretty easy.”
Stuckert said that his goal was for players to improve on little details and skills. And, because the team is young, they are more impressionable. Stuckert tells his team that he wants to improve as well, so that learning is not a one-way street.
“We can sit there and sell our brand of football and what we envision but until you see the fruits of your labor in a victory, it’s hard to get the kids to really buy in,” Stuckert said.
