Assad has 53 players suited up at Brownsville
HILLER – When Andy Assad took over the Brownsville football program three years ago, 33 kids took the field. Participation continued to slowly improve over the past two years and this season, 53 players suited up for preseason practice. He will be entering his fourth year this season with promise and high hopes. “We’re going to run out of equipment pretty soon since we have so many kids who came out, but that’s a good problem to have for a football team,” Assad said. “I can’t fully explain why the interest has increased so much, but we’ve seen more and more kids interested and I’m glad that’s the case.”
The Falcons compiled a 4-5 record last year, 2-5 in conference with wins at East Allegheny (58-28) and home against Southmoreland (31-10). They started the season 2-0 with non-conference wins at Albert Gallatin (14-6) and at Deer Lakes (23-17).
They hope to improve on that record this year, but it is an improvement over the 1-8 season the year before and 0-10 in the 2003 season.
“We had a positive off-season with workouts and drills and the attitude has been great the whole time,” Assad said. “We had some success last year compared to the years before and we want to keep that going and continue to improve every year.”
One reason the program has been infused and hopes to keep improving is the development of the junior high program.
“The players in our junior high program have been getting better, and the coaches there have been doing a great job,” Assad said. “As they get older, they funnel into our program with fundamentals already developed.”
Recruiting by coaches and the players also played an important role in increasing the number of players on the team.
“We get out into the school, walk in the hallways, and see kids here and there and let them know the advantages of coming out for the team because being part of an organized program only helps with grades, attendance and better off-field behavior,” Assad said. “Our players are seen by other kids as having fun and doing something positive and they want to be part of that also, so just word of mouth from the players has helped us grow our numbers.”
The team’s resources are also available to all who are interested.
“Our weight room is open to anyone at school who wants to use it and while the players are there working and having fun, their attitude bleeds over to the other kids,” Assad said. “We have kids who feel comfortable and associate with the players so much that they decided to just join the team themselves.”
The Falcons will need an infusion of players as they graduated 12 last year.
“We brought back a bunch of lettermen who provide good leadership because we’ve been working on developing a good attitude and work ethic for the last couple of years,” Assad said. “That has been one of the main reasons the kids have bought into our program.”
Assad feels perhaps the most important factor is the positive attitude, which played a big part in the continued success in recruiting kids at Brownsville into the program and helping with success on the field.
“We instill in the kids to work hard all year around,” Assad said. “During the actual season, we teach the kids to battle every week by working to get better every day.”
He hopes the improvement can continue this season and into the future.
“If we’re willing to learn and play together as a team, we’ve got a chance every week,” Assad said. “Plus, our kids will become not just better football players, but better people, so that is rewarding as well.”