The last decade hasn’t yielded much success for Wyoming East.
The Warriors have reached the playoffs just once in the last eight seasons which is the only time they’ve finished .500 or better.
With a brand new turf field and coach in Steven Cook, the hope is that brighter days are on the horizon. It starts with laying a foundation for success which is Cook’s primary focus.
“Day 1 I was focused on a culture change and cleaning up several things like discipline,” Cook said. “We want an environment where our guys support each other instead of cutting each other down. If somebody drops a ball obviously they know they should’ve caught it and they’ll have six other guys on the team letting them know they should’ve caught it.”
With a new direction comes excitement. Cook has been able to coerce close to 40 players to come out, a boots from last year’s numbers.
“Just judging by the number of kids that came out, I think there’s a lot of people behind me and the program,” Cook said. “Last season they ended with about 22 kids and even with graduations and transfers I haven’t had any kids quit. We’re solid at about 35 or 36 and I expect everybody here to stay.”
Transfers hit East hard with starting QB Jackson Danielson moving to River View. It’s required some reconfiguring but the Warriors have an idea of who will play where and who they’ll need to anchor them. There also light on experience with a relatively younger roster.
“We only have five seniors so we’re light there,” Cook said. “Braxton Morgan came out and he’ll be our quarterback. He’s a pretty good athlete and he’s a sophomore. A senior that’s going to have a good year on both sides of the ball is Bryson Huff. Alex Hearn will need to our anchor on the offensive line and his brother Lee Hearn will need to be a good player in our backfield and as a multi-position guy.”
Those players will anchor an offense that project to be versatile. The Warriors will have concepts and formations they favor early but as the year goes on expect to see different looks.
“Early we might favor trying to spread the field a little more but we’re going to chase what works,” Cook said. “It could be any number of things. We have some pro-style under center looks, I-formation and we have doubles and trips to spread the field. Everything has its own purpose.”
Accommodating the new-look Warriors will be a new-look field. East had its field turfed this offseason, giving the program a much needed upgrade. It’s helped eliminate the more cumbersome issues issues associated with grass, dirt and mud.
“I haven’t had the experience coaching with a grass field before this but I can tell you it’s a lot cleaner,” Cook said. “It’s so easy to keep the locker room clean and equipment clean. You don’t have to deal with all the mud and dirt and grass and you don’t have to mow it. And it looks good. It’s more comfortable and it makes coaching more efficient.”
The hope is that the increased numbers, new coach and new field mean a new, successful era is on the horizon. The senior class has won a total of five games over the last three years. That’s not lost on Cook who wants to alleviate the losses with a new outlook and mentality. Success is expected but achieving it doesn’t happen suddenly.
“It’s a mentality thing,” Cook said. “Something I’ve discussed with the players, I don’t think I have a senior that’s played all four years so we might not have a kid that’s won more than four games in their career. Obviously that has to change somewhere. We’re telling them they’re getting better every day and it’s not okay to lay down. Go after it and see the improvements. Just the little things like team discipline is a positive thing. They just have to embrace the baby steps.”
