ElksFan1999
New member
As an avid elks fan since the 90's, this has definitely been a tough stretch for the ELKS. I have watched teams under Gregg, Ullery (x2), and Roberts. I have watched a couple of Elks game this year, and to me coaching does not seem to be the biggest issue. I think when you compare teams of old vs now, this years team is relying on some guys that in the past you would not have. There are some kids on the team with a "me first" attitude, that back in the Greg and Ullery Sr. days would have been told see ya. Unfortunately, these teams are seeing lower and lower number of kids playing, and I think there needs to be a change from the peewee and middle school level. The peewee teams stack one good team, so the other teams are not as good and kids get tired of getting waxed every week. Then, at the middle school level, they seem to focus on winning instead of development, playing the same 15-20 kids on both sides of the ball. Therefore your average players who play in B games end up quitting. By the time they are freshman you are seeing 30 kids come out, instead of the 60 that they used to have.
The coaching staff now you have multiple coaches that played under or coached with Gregg and Ullery, and understand the culture of Centerville football. I do not want to put all the blame on the kids, but I do think there are some parents that sit in the stands and bad mouth the coaches every week. You think the players are then going to respect these coaches and put the team first after that? Its hard to build the culture and Elk Pride Centerville is known for when you do not have buy in from the parents as well as the players. Ullery's first year when they went 9-1 you had a senior class that bought in, played as a team, and were true "Centerville" players. I do not know if you could really say that about the classes that are there right now
The coaching staff now you have multiple coaches that played under or coached with Gregg and Ullery, and understand the culture of Centerville football. I do not want to put all the blame on the kids, but I do think there are some parents that sit in the stands and bad mouth the coaches every week. You think the players are then going to respect these coaches and put the team first after that? Its hard to build the culture and Elk Pride Centerville is known for when you do not have buy in from the parents as well as the players. Ullery's first year when they went 9-1 you had a senior class that bought in, played as a team, and were true "Centerville" players. I do not know if you could really say that about the classes that are there right now