Psyched for a Sophomore Season

Lake Braddock’s Head Coach Mike Dougherty of the Varsity Football team is ready for his second season at the helm. Coming off a 7-3 season last year (8-4 if you count the playoffs) Dougherty feels that success is imminent. When asked what it was like to be here for his second year he said, “It’s more organized, we’ve worked together for a year now,” adding that, “Last year we had to get organized with 90 days before the season started, having a year to prepare for this season is big for the team.”

A coach’s ability to connect with his players is key to ensuring success for the team down the line. Dougherty knew that he had big shoes to fill since Legendary Head Coach Jim Poythress left. Getting the job in May as Dougherty out it, “Hurt us bit.” He would go on to elaborate that becoming a new coach means establishing a good relationship with the players. But he also noted that getting to know the players and keeping them in line is the name of the game.

The team does have one big question to answer between now and the start of the regular season. Which is, ‘Who will be the starting QB?’. Jack Darcy left last season as a graduating Senior, now the spot is up for grabs between Sophomore Billy Edwards and Junior Chase Soper. “Any time you’ve got two guys fighting over the same spot, it brings out the best in them,” Dougherty explained. “It’ll push them to work harder and fight harder for something they want, competition is always a good motivator,” He concluded.”

When it comes to looking into the future, there’s nothing but a bright sun coming up over the horizon for the Bruins. Dougherty feels that, “The level of talent that we have is better than anywhere else in the state,” (according to the analysts out there). Dougherty concluded with saying that, “We have had a long tradition of winning the past decade, it’s our job to keep it up.” The Bruins still have training camp coming up, so we shall see how well they seem to be when the time comes. Both at the start of the regular season opener against 3 time State Champion Westfield in August.