The football team at Foothill College will look different this season after reaching a five-year contract with Nike for new uniforms. There is also a new decal with wings adorning the black helmets worn by the Owls.
“The kids seem pretty pumped up about it,” Foothill coach Kelly Edwards said. “For me, it’s just window dressing. But the kids seem pretty excited about it, and I guess that’s what matters these days. Hopefully they play as good as they look.”
Edwards hopes to avoid a repeat of 2012, when the Owls lost their last seven games to finish 3-7 — including 0-5 in the rugged NorCal Conference. In his 17th year at Foothill, the second-year head coach took over the helm after the sudden death of Doug Boyett in January of last year. The Owls won their first three games before the season took a turn for the worse.
During his previous 13 seasons as an assistant, Foothill went 111-31.
“We brought in a lot of kids this year, a lot of freshmen, so we can get back to where we once were,” Edwards said. “And a lot of that has to do with bringing in kids that want to buy in and kind of greyshirt a little bit. We’ll see what happens. There could be a lot of freshmen that surprise us that won’t greyshirt.”
A majority of the team spent the summer on campus getting ready for kickoff on Sept. 7, with practice resuming this week.
“Everybody is here and accounted for,” Edwards said on Friday morning. “There is still some kids that are still flying in and driving in this weekend because we get started on Wednesday. But I would say about 95 percent of our kids are here and accounted for. We’re getting ready to rock-n-roll here.”
Nearly 100 players are expected on the field, a mixture of freshmen and sophomores, NCAA Div. I kickbacks, plus seven would-be starters from last season who were ineligible.
“We will probably have 75 when it’s all said and done in about three weeks,” Edwards said.
Expected to make an impact on defense are a couple of out-of-towners in outside linebacker Donovan James from North Miami Beach and defensive back De Eric Crocket from Salem, Ore. But Edwards wouldn’t speculate about his defensive line, which has plenty of fresh faces.
“The way they look on film and what they did during the spring and summer, it’s a good sign,” Edwards said. “But we just have to wait and see until we get pads on them for me to comment on who exactly to watch out for.”
Foothill has its summer intrasquad scrimmage Aug. 30. Rival College of San Mateo holds its Blue-White Game on Saturday.
Strength in numbers
Owen Flannery isn’t 100 percent sure what his women’s soccer roster at Foothill will look like until players report to the pitch Thursday. Last he heard, goalie Samantha Street was still considering a full-ride offer from Concordia College in New York.
“She’s still 50/50,” Flannery said. “I don’t know if she’s coming back or not.”
One verbal commitment he hopes comes through is from Fatmata Kamara, who played for the MVLA Lightning club team.
“She’s the kind of forward that can get you 30 goals in a year,” Flannery said. “Last year, we were really missing that killer forward. This year, I’m going to have five or six kids like that.”
Foothill has won the Coast Conference South Division four of the past five years, but Flannery expects a new challenge this season from a possible roster of 26 players, with three goalies.
“We have our biggest and most talented freshman class that I’ve had so far at Foothill,” said Flannery, who has seven coaches on staff, along with two trainers and a sports psychologist. “I’m going to be the master chef in there, trying to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
Part of the recipe will include dipping into the bench midway through each half.
“Halfway through, we’ll sub in a whole new team,” Flannery said. “And sometimes I will rest my best players, so they’re coming in against the other kids that are tired.”
Gone from last year’s team are key players such as Madison Salom to St. Mary’s, Kelsey Burke (Notre Dame-Belmont) to Utah State on full scholarhip, Korinne Estrada to Hawaii and Laura Angulo, who turned down Miami to attend Hawaii-Pacific.
But there’s still a few sophomores to guide the freshmen, including Mountain View graduate Rachel Fish at center back.
“I believe she’s a Division I-level player,” Flannery said.
The season kicks off at home Aug. 30.
Double duty
Matt Stanley got a little more than he bargained for after he was hired as the men’s basketball coach at Foothill. With the women’s basketball position vacant, Stanley has had to run the preseason conditioning class four days a week for both programs.
“It’s just busier,” Stanley said. “But it’s a great experience. I’m learning a ton. I’ve never coached women before, but it’s been a blast so far.”
Four times a week, Stanley holds the workout with the men’s squad from 1 to 3 p.m., gets a half-hour break, then spends the next two hours with the Lady Owls.
“My job is just to keep them in shape,” Stanley said. “To keep their skills sharp, and things like that.”
Point guard Jack Biebel is the only returning player on the men’s roster in town, though Stanley has exchanged emails with one of last year’s post players who is spending the summer back home in the Netherlands.
Finding new homes
CSM baseball coach Doug Williams announced record numbers for the program, with 17 of 18 sophomores transferring (Joe Armstrong will transfer at the end of the fall), 14 scholarships (totaling $243,000) and 11 NCAA Div. I transfers. Williams singled out assistant coach Brett Thomas as instrumental to the process for the student-athletes.
Email Vytas Mazeika at vmazeika@dailynewsgroup.com; follow him at Twitter.com/dailynewsvytas.
2013 CSM Baseball Transfers
Name College Level
Joe Armstrong Lewis-Clark State NAIA
Ryan Atlas University of San Francisco Div. I
Jarrett Costa UC Santa Barbara Div. I
Trevin Craig Missouri Baptist NAIA
Brandon DeFazio University of San Diego Div. I
Zac Grotz University of Tennessee Div. I
Andrew Herrera Sterling College NAIA
Cooper Johnson Missouri Baptist NAIA
Gavin Long Eastern New Mexico St Div. II
Luke McCreesh North Carlolina A&T Div. I
Ryan O’Malley Florida Gulf Coast Div. I
Alex Palsha Sacramento State Div. I
DJ Sharabi San Jose State Div. I
Ben Straka Corbin University NAIA
Parker Swindell UNC Asheville Div. I
Preston Tarter San Francisco State Div. II
Logan Trowbridge Cal State Bakersfield Div. I
Jeff VonMoser Albany University Div. I
