Changing times, new outlook for Round Lake
The Jordan Era is beginning at Round Lake.
No, not that Jordan. But Jordan Eder hopes to take the Panthers to new heights that even “His Airness” would appreciate.
Considering that Round Lake has won only seven games in the last eight years and is coming off an 0-9 season, Eder knows he has a huge challenge in front of him. But his players make him optimistic that improvement will happen.
“We have a great core group of guys and you wouldn’t know that we were 0-9 last year,” said the 25-year-old Eder, who was hired as head coach and a physical education teacher this spring after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Grant. “The guys don’t act that way, they don’t practice that way. We preach a new start and the guys have bought into that. We’re going to improve.”
The return of veterans John Ridley and Chris Washington will help the Panthers’ cause. Ridley started at quarterback last season and Washington, a wide receiver and defensive back, was Round Lake’s only all-conference selection last season.
“He’s very smart and hard-working,” Eder said of Washington. “He should have a big year for us.
“And John Ridley, our quarterback, has been great. He’s also very smart so he’s picked up everything so fast. He’s going to be smart with the ball and he knows the offense well. That’s a tremendous asset.”
Running back Chris Perry will be in asset in the backfield with his experience. He started last year as a sophomore. Senior returner Taylor Stempinsky will also get some carries. They’ll run behind a big offensive line led by senior center Tyler Norkus (6-foot-2, 315 pounds).
Meanwhile, the defense will be led by linebacker Freddie Ariza, who started last year as a sophomore.
“Freddie is often the best guy on the field for us,” Eder said. “We have some really great athletes on this team, and we should be pretty fast.
“We’ve also made huge strides in the weight room and with our overall football skills.”
Only about half the kids on the roster were able to regularly attend summer workout sessions, due to conflicts with summer school or their part-time jobs. But Eder says there’s no excuse for his team not to be able to compete.
“There are challenges at every school and we have a lot here. But we’re trying to get to the point where we just stay positive and not focus on those issues,” Eder said. “We don’t want the kids to use them as a crutch.
“It’s not that they have been, but we’re just trying to change the mentality around this program. The kids we have out here really do want to do well and they want to succeed and they’ve done everything we’ve asked them. They’re on the same page as us, so now it’s a matter of us all getting to where we want to go.”