Whatever their record, hard work makes Panthers winners
Kids who sprint 40 yards in 4.4 seconds don't transfer to Round Lake. Nor do athletic, 6-foot-5, 320-pounders with feet quick enough squash a mouse being chased by a cat.
The Panthers don't get sons of former Chicago Bears to play for them.
Instead, 6-2, 280-pound linemen with Division I potential blow out a knee.
That's what happened to senior center Zack Peterson, anyway.
"He was being recruited by Iowa, Iowa State, Illinois," Round Lake coach John Coursey said.
The cloud hanging over Round Lake's football team just turned charcoal gray.
"When it rains, it pours," Coursey said. "At Panther High, you know there are no breaks here.
"But that's OK," added the Panthers' upbeat coach, who's still seeking win No. 1 after back-to-back 0-9 seasons in Panther colors. "(Injuries) happen to everybody. You can't cry about it. You just got to move on."
If there were tears for the tough-luck Peterson, they've long dried up.
The 2010 high school football season starts tonight, and the Panthers can't afford to lament for one snap.
Peterson, who made honorable mention all-conference for a winless team last year, has turned in his helmet and shoulder pads. He has traded them for a coaches cap.
Since he won't be playing this season, Peterson is helping coach other linemen.
"We're really sad that we're going to miss Zack," Coursey said. "But he's doing a great job helping coach our offensive line. ... He's been fantastic. He's brought a lot of knowledge."
So, too, has Coursey.
Sure, the Panthers take a 25-game losing streak into tonight's season opener at Westosha Central in Salem, Wis., but don't think they're feeling like losers. Coursey, who's been coaching football for nearly 30 years and enters his third season at Round Lake, is confident his players are where they should be after two seasons under him.
They're on Coursey's course.
"I think the kids that are here now on the varsity level understand what we're about and what we need to do," Coursey said.
"We work as hard as any team in America in the off-season."
While not America's Team, the Panthers are, seemingly, a "team," ready to win a football game and maybe more than one. They got a treat earlier this summer, even if it might have felt like boot camp.
Following non-contact camp, Coursey and his staff took the players to North Park University.
"They learned what it was like to be a football player," Coursey said. "We went 24/7. They had a half-hour break a day. Otherwise, they were in a meeting, on a practice field, watching film. That was it."
Coursey did not take his players on a similar field trip his first two seasons.
"I wanted to wait until we got the right kids," he said. "After the first day - after I got them up at 6 (a.m.) and ran them to death - they knew."
The Panthers practiced three times a day.
They were beat. But by the end, they felt they could beat somebody.
"You know what? Coursey said. "I think they really enjoyed it. Not only did it bring us closer as a team, but I think they understood what it took to be a good football player. It was a great experience.
"It was harder for me," he added with a chuckle. "I'm getting older."
Since he took over in 2008, Coursey has never made winning priority No. 1. He's wanted to establish a culture where his players would be responsible for their actions, on and off the field. He's wanted kids who wanted to compete, who understood accountability better than their playbook.
He thinks he has that more so today than when he started.
"We just got to put a couple of W's on the scoreboard," he said. "And we'll have done everything we set out to accomplish."
When told a lot of people, not just those in the Round Lake community, are probably rooting for his team, Coursey shrugged modestly.
"It's nice," he said. "Everybody roots for the Cubs, too."
Round Lake's coach is practicing what he's preaching. He isn't asking for sympathy. He's holding himself accountable.
A good break, unlike Zack Peterson's, is due.
jaguilar@dailyherald.com