Hello Pir ate football fami ly, fr iends and fans. This is a new ini tiative we are tr ying this year to improve the l ines of communication between the football program and parents. We w i l l send out this newsletter at the beginning of each month. We w i l l highl ight

events that occur red dur ing the previous month and preview the upcoming schedule of events. We w i l l also highl ight accomplishments of cur rent players as well as put the spotl ight on some alumni who are doing great things post Rocky River High School. So feel fr ee to spread the word and share the newsletter. We w i l l be more than happy to add people to our emai l l ist for the newsletter i f they want to stay in the loop on al l the happenings of the Rocky River Football Program.

March 9, 2018

On Fr iday March 2 the incoming fr eshman football players spent their lunch per iod w ith Coach Wells talking football , school, summer and enjoying Subway!

Mont hly Newsl et t er

Issue # 1 WELCOME!!!!

LUNCH WITH COACH

Fir st pir at e f oot bal l newsl et t er

2nd Lif t ing Cycle

Players in grades 10-12 will resume our morning lifts Monday March 5th at 6:15am. The first 8 week cycle was a huge success! Players saw gains of up to 60lbs per lift and we had numerous players reach the levels of our newly implemented Weight Clubs. Those will be covered in depth later in the newsletter.

Middle School MinuteIn an effor t to fur ther str eamline our program from the top levels dow n, our soon to be 7th and 8th grade football players star ted their off-season l i f ting program in Februar y. These young men were ver y anxious to get star ted and i t shows. Ever y Monday and Wednesday after school star ting at 4pm you can f ind 30 plus sixth and seventh graders working to get better in the weight room. Under dir ection of the Middle School Coaching staff , and an assist from Per formance Central, the future of the Rocky River Football Program is br ight!

On top of the l i f ting two days a week, a large number of the boys showed up on the evening of Sunday Februar y 18th for an agi l i ty workout w ith the high school coaching staff . The commitment of this group is incredible!

2018 8th Gr ade Coaching Staf fHead Coach - Wade Massad

Assistant Coach - Br ian Kelly

Assistant Coach - Sal Bucca

2018 7th Gr ade Coaching Staf fHead Coach - Ryan Mor r is

Assistant Coach - Nick Vir zi

Assistant Coach - Jeff Hammond

Of f-season Over v iewWith the 2017 season ending w ith the Pir ates f inishing in 9th place in the playoff r egion (top 8 teams make the playoffs) the coaching staff knew there needed to be changes made to the off-season. We adjusted our l i f ting program as well as the time we l i f ted. Monday, Wednesday and Fr iday morning at 6:15am football players who were not in a w inter spor t were at school r eady to l i f t!

After the f i r st 8 weeks the increase in str ength was incredible! We had 8 players have their four l i f t total go over 1000lbs. This is great news seeing as there were only 3 players that achieved that level when we tested in Januar y. The 1000lb Club

achievers are as fol lows:

- Paul Broschk- Ergi Sulce- Henr y Jacques- Devin Gw inn- Daishaun Hi l l- Seth Dimacchia

- Jack Ohlemacher- Haden Zwolenik

We also had 3 young men reach "Iron Man" status for not missing a day of l i f t ing for the f i r st 8 weeks of l i f t ing.

- Paul Broschk- Haden Zwolenik- Ergi Sulce

These young men received hoodies for their accomplishment of per fect attendance!

To compliment our l i f ting program, the Marooner 's graciously paid for our players to attend Speed Training at T3 Per formance in Avon. This is open to players in grades 9-12 as well as some middle school players. This takes place ever y Sunday from 5:30-6:30pm.

Eight 1000l b cl ub achiever s!

MARCH MADNESS!! Be on t he look out for t he RRFPA HOOPSMANIA Fundraiser ! Ticket s available soon!

iSAVE THE DATE!!!

Tuesday March 27t h at 6:30pm @ RRHS Com m ons. Inaugural Freshm an Foot ball Signing Day Event !

IMPORTANT REMINDERS!!!

The cost for Mount Union Camp increased this year from $175 to $200.

The cost for our Summer Camp Gear decreased from $40 to $35.

Payments w i l l star t being col lected for both May 1 and are due no later than June 1.

Coach Spot l ight

Each m ont h, st ar t ing in Apr i l , we w il l pick a coach on st af f t o spot l ight . This w il l al low you as parent s t o get t o know m ore about t he m en who coach your sons!

Pirat e of t he Mont h

Each m ont h, st ar t ing in Apr i l , we w il l also select a player t o recognize. This m ight be for academ ics, service in t he com m unit y, work in t he of f -season, or accom plishm ent s on t he foot ball f ield.

GOOD LUCK TO MICHAEL SHOAF AS HE THROWS SHOT PUT AT THE NATIONAL MEET!!!!