UPCOMING: Young Gators following their leaders
BAKER — It doesn’t take long for Baker football coach Bob Kellogg to call roll for his returning seniors.
In fact, Kellogg can count those players on the fingers of one hand — and he won’t need to use his thumb.
That’s a far cry from last year, when the Gators had 16 seniors on he roster.
The returning seniors for 2009 are Dakota Hooper, Mason Doggette, Jett Feltner and Jacob Lawson. They will be counted on heavily to take leadership roles with some help from some well-respected juniors.
“The seniors we’ve got are good seniors,” Kellogg said. “It’s just that what we don’t have a lot of them. We are hoping we can develop that (leadership). That’s a big thing this summer.
“We want to develop strength and speed, but we want to develop that leadership thing. When kids take charge and hold each other accountable that’s an important factor in our game.”
Kellogg faced a similar situation with a small senior class two years ago. At that time he named a group of captains and had them choose the teams they would lead throughout the summer.
He brought back the idea this summer, naming the four seniors as captains along with juniors Logan Wagner and Christian Mainor.
“Each captain is in charge of his team as far as their attendance being here and their work,” Kellogg explained. “We have to develop that (leadership) because we did have 16 seniors (last year) and then you go to four we can see that is lacking.”
Read the full story in the July 4 edition of the Crestview News Bulletin
