"It's never a bad thing to win the league, it's never a bad thing at all," Leetonia's Matt Altomare would remark. "You see some new faces in the weightroom, and there is some new enthusiasm," Altomare would add. Altomare will be helped by his father Artie, who ammased numerous TCL championships during his tenure, and is still an assistant coach for the Bears. A winning season always helps to build numbers in the program, while obviously a losing season can cause some disinterest or turn potential athletes in the school away from the football program.
The pressure to repeat is not only generated from opponents, but can also come from right within the schools own fans and community. Western Reserve's coach Mike Kopachy would comment following the Blue Devils title in 2006, "I think we felt some pressure to prove to people and ultimately ourselves that we were for real for the long run." Altomare would echo those sentiments, "There are people in the community that will feel that if you did it this year, you should do it every year."
With four straight league titles (ICL & ITCL) the South Range community no doubt expects league championships on a yearly basis. "Defending the ITCL title does bring extra pressure to me, my staff, and especially the players," Raider coach Dan Yeagley would comment. Yeagley would go on to say, "They must work harder and harder as the target on our back gets bigger. The players know the off season is even more important then ever with lifting and summer conditioning. To us the ITCL title is very important, and we know that everyone in the league, like us, want's to be ITCL champs."
But Friday night's this fall will prove if the off-season pressure has taken it's toll on a team. Kopachy would remark, "I believe that when you are defending champs, that everyone brings their A-game to the field on Friday nights. Every league game was a war, and it's what makes our league so great." "We all put in a little more time and push the players a little harder especially come August," Yeagley would close. Leetonia will get it's first test Thursday August 21st against Lisbon, while South Range and McDonald will kickoff their season a day later.
-ITCLFootball.net Article