Maples used to having two-way players
There’s a term in Single-A high school football that is all too familiar — the two-way player.
In lower classifications, if a player starts on offense, then they will usually start on defense. For those schools that have low numbers, they are used to this trend by now.
Mapletown is one of the smallest public schools in Pennsylvania and veteran coach George Messich is well-adjusted to having low numbers.
“That’s life as a small Class A school,” said Messich, who played for Mapletown and then went onto excel on the gridiron at the University of Pittsburgh. “If you get 30 kids on your team, that’s a big turnout. I think most teams are OK with having 17 to 23 kids on their team. You just pray for no injuries.”
And this trend of the two-way player goes way back.
“I did it when I played,” Messich said. “I remember in 1973 my senior year, I don’t think I ever got off the field. Most of our coaches played both ways and that’s how it always been. You have to be versatile and flexible in your lineup. I would say when I went here, eight of the 11 positions played both ways.”
When it comes to conditioning and keeping players healthy throughout the season, there’s several different ways to go about it during games and at practices.
“Every kid responds differently when playing both ways,” explained Messich. “Some kids can handle that type of work load and are able to play through it. Sometimes you have to monitor snaps and do what’s best for the kid. The most important thing is to have your 11-best on the field. I don’t want to have one of my better kids standing next to me on the sidelines.”
Messich also stated there is another trend he’s seen in high school football recently and that’s those early summer 7-on-7 camps.
“Those things been going on the last seven or eight years, I think,” he said. “As a coach, you love that. It gets your guys on the field and really help them with the understanding the playbook early on. It helps with your flow and your cohesiveness on your team. It gets the younger kids involved early on, too.
“We’ve been going to the Washington & Jefferson camp, and there’s so many teams that do it now. There was like six fields with like at least 20 teams participating. It’s great for the kids and for high school football in the area. I really like doing it and it really helps us before we start training camp.”
The Maples will play a familiar foe on the road in Week Zero, Tri-County South Conference rival Avella in a non-conference game.
“Avella’s coach called me in the offseason and asked if we had a Week Zero opponent yet,” Messich said. “He ran this idea by me and I loved it. Both schools are the smallest ones around in the area and the last couple of years we have had some great games against each other. I’m glad we are doing it.”
The two teams will square off again on Oct. 19 in the eighth week of the season, but this time it will count as a conference game.