SEBASTIAN — The Sebastian River Sharks held their media day at the Shark Tank this weekend. After some leisurely photos and interaction between coaches players and proud parents the Sharks wasted no time and went directly to the practice field.
The varsity football team practiced in pads for about two hours during a full contact scrimmage in 90 degree heat. Second year head coach Kevin Pettis said that the numbers for players participating in summer workouts has increased this season.
“Summer has been good and our numbers are where they need to be,” Pettis stated. “This will be the first time that we had a weight room for the whole year. Kids are getting a lot stronger and I’m happy where we’re at right now. Being the first day of full pads and being able to hit, we’ll probably be doing must of our evaluating after today’s scrimmage and then next week but I’m happy with our team.”
Coach Pettis returns for his second year as head coach at Sebastian River after replacing Randy Bethel who coached the Sharks for more than a decade. Coach Pettis said that the team has bought into his philosophy.
“Last year it never really felt like my team I guess because of the situation and all that,” Pettis said. “It never really felt like my team the whole year. This year it feels like mine.”
Every year high school teams lose critical players because of graduation. One of the key voids that Sebastian River will need to fill is at running back. The Sharks had one of the area’s top rushers in Nick Cooper last season. Coach Pettis said there are some young players that may be able to fill Cooper’s shoes.
“We have Emanuel Reed, Wayne Parks, and Chris Harper and some other kids that are doing a great job,” Pettis said. “We may have to fill Cooper’s void with a couple of people but we feel good about a running back coming in. Most everybody is coming back on our offensive line.”
Sebastian River will play Vero Beach in the annual Dollars for Scholars Kickoff Classic August 29th. The game is a local rivalry that gains momentum every year. Coach Pettis said he hopes it’s better than last year.
“I know it’s called a rivalry game but I don’t consider it a rivalry until the other team wins one,” Pettis said. It’s a rivalry in which both teams can coexist. We don’t have to be bad for them to be good; they don’t have to be bad for us to be good. It should be a fun game and I hope we can close the gap a little bit.”
The Sharks finished with a 2-8 record last season but coach Pettis feels optimistic about 2014.
“Our numbers have been great all summer and we’ve worked a lot of kids out every day,” Pettis said. “They’ve been in that sand pit every day. I think that they have bought in. You can’t work the way we work and not be bought in.”