Experience. There’s nothing like it when it comes to teaching valuable lessons. However, many find it difficult to find value in those lessons during the struggle. Learning comes later. Following a 1-9 season, Cardington head football coach Ryan Goetzman feels he and his staff learned a lot from the struggle.
“After the 2022 season as a staff, we sat down and looked at how we could get better and improve our program,” Goetzman said. “We have grown our program numbers to north of 45 athletes, up from 32 a year ago. We are hoping those numbers translate to more depth and a full JV schedule.”
Goetzman, a 10-year coaching veteran, is in his third season at Cardington, second as the head coach.
His on-field conduct and coaching style are a blend of experiences and relationships.
“I don't know that I have built my philosophy from any one person,” Goetzman said. “I had a lot of influence from my high school head coach Gary Keller, who is why I got into coaching. Also, I am thankful for my time working with Mike Kerr and Tod Brininger, who have both been instrumental in my coaching development.”
The 2023 edition of Pirates football features roughly eight starters on both sides of the ball, with a blend of youth and experience at significant positions.
“We will be counting on a mix of young athletes,” Goetzman said. “We are still young at some key positions, but we return three of our five starting linemen. Those three will be huge in our success this season as they anchor us up front.”
The Pirates look to improve on last season’s offensive output by adapting their offense to the talent at hand.
“We will run the majority of a spread offense with some different looks here and there,” Goetzman said. “We’ll focus on that and try to tweak it to the athletes we have.”
Key losses include a quartet of All-KMAC performers. Colin McAvoy, first team; Kaiden Beach, second team; Ashton Plowman, second team and Ayden Plowman, second team will be missed.
Wyatt Denny, honorable mention All-KMAC as a freshman, adds experience and helps to foster a winning mindset.
“Our expectations are to improve from last season and keep building the culture and football program at Cardington,” Goetzman said. “Each year we would love to compete for the KMAC title and earn a playoff berth, but first we must take care of ourselves and get better each week.”
Cardington’s non-league schedule has the Pirates on the road for two of their first three games. The season begins on the road at Elgin on Aug. 18, followed by the home opener against Columbus Academy. A visit to Bucyrus precedes the KMAC opener, a home game against Northmor on Sept. 8.
