Post by CrimsonPhantom on Jun 19, 2012 9:41:19 GMT -7
Centennial coach Ocampo: Hawks have ‘a heckuva place’
By Craig Massey
Las Cruces Bulletin
High school football tradition runs deep in Las Cruces. Local history is full of great teams, great games and many championships.
But there’s something refreshing about a clean slate. The tradition has to start somewhere and it’s being born on a pristine, glimmering new campus, surrounded by desert and a protective fence.
Newness abounds at Centennial High School as the first Hawks football squad began working out this month on the school’s practice field and in its not-yet-finished weight room.
Head coach Aaron Ocampo and his staff have welcomed an average of about 100 players each day since the workouts began. About 60 of those are freshmen. The other 40 or so are split between sophomores and juniors. There are no seniors.
“One of the biggest concerns when I took the job was numbers,” Ocampo said. “We have a lot of freshmen and that’s encouraging. With the freshman group, it looks like we have some big kids and some guys who are football players. The older kids show signs of having some athletic ability. Time will tell.”
Ocampo, formerly the head coach at Albuquerque’s Manzano High School, where he developed the Monarchs into a powerful program, said the biggest challenge so far has been the unfamiliarity of everything – from the players, to the facilities, to the teams on their schedule.
The Hawks open against the El Paso Americas junior varsity, and will face teams such as Hot Springs, Socorro, Hatch Valley, Deming, Chaparral and Santa Teresa. They will compete in Class 4A initially.
“We really don’t know these opponents yet, and the biggest challenge is we don’t know anything about these kids,” Ocampo said. “Usually when they’re juniors, you had them as freshmen and sophomores and know their strengths and what they need to work on. We don’t know anything about any of them. We’re taking the summer to do this. We need to find out who to put on the first team so we can get them a lot of reps.”
Ocampo and his staff, which includes former Socorro head coach Louie Laborin as the defensive coordinator, knows that the future is everything when you’re starting from scratch.
“We’re putting the work in now and we’ll reap the benefits later,” he said. “We’re very pleased with the effort and enthusiasm. It’s been awesome. The kids are working hard.” The challenges of a first-year program at a brand new school are abundant. Most of the equipment is on site, but the staff is still waiting for weights to be added to the weight room.
Ocampo is looking for someone to paint the lines on the practice field, and his access card to get on campus didn’t work the other day.
“I’m a guy who tries to focus only on the things I can control,” he said. “When you look around at these facilities, all your troubles go away. Once we get everything going, this will be a heckuva place.”
From- www.lascrucesbulletin.com/ee/lascrucesbulletin/default.php?pSetup=lascrucesbulletin
By Craig Massey
Las Cruces Bulletin
High school football tradition runs deep in Las Cruces. Local history is full of great teams, great games and many championships.
But there’s something refreshing about a clean slate. The tradition has to start somewhere and it’s being born on a pristine, glimmering new campus, surrounded by desert and a protective fence.
Newness abounds at Centennial High School as the first Hawks football squad began working out this month on the school’s practice field and in its not-yet-finished weight room.
Head coach Aaron Ocampo and his staff have welcomed an average of about 100 players each day since the workouts began. About 60 of those are freshmen. The other 40 or so are split between sophomores and juniors. There are no seniors.
“One of the biggest concerns when I took the job was numbers,” Ocampo said. “We have a lot of freshmen and that’s encouraging. With the freshman group, it looks like we have some big kids and some guys who are football players. The older kids show signs of having some athletic ability. Time will tell.”
Ocampo, formerly the head coach at Albuquerque’s Manzano High School, where he developed the Monarchs into a powerful program, said the biggest challenge so far has been the unfamiliarity of everything – from the players, to the facilities, to the teams on their schedule.
The Hawks open against the El Paso Americas junior varsity, and will face teams such as Hot Springs, Socorro, Hatch Valley, Deming, Chaparral and Santa Teresa. They will compete in Class 4A initially.
“We really don’t know these opponents yet, and the biggest challenge is we don’t know anything about these kids,” Ocampo said. “Usually when they’re juniors, you had them as freshmen and sophomores and know their strengths and what they need to work on. We don’t know anything about any of them. We’re taking the summer to do this. We need to find out who to put on the first team so we can get them a lot of reps.”
Ocampo and his staff, which includes former Socorro head coach Louie Laborin as the defensive coordinator, knows that the future is everything when you’re starting from scratch.
“We’re putting the work in now and we’ll reap the benefits later,” he said. “We’re very pleased with the effort and enthusiasm. It’s been awesome. The kids are working hard.” The challenges of a first-year program at a brand new school are abundant. Most of the equipment is on site, but the staff is still waiting for weights to be added to the weight room.
Ocampo is looking for someone to paint the lines on the practice field, and his access card to get on campus didn’t work the other day.
“I’m a guy who tries to focus only on the things I can control,” he said. “When you look around at these facilities, all your troubles go away. Once we get everything going, this will be a heckuva place.”
From- www.lascrucesbulletin.com/ee/lascrucesbulletin/default.php?pSetup=lascrucesbulletin