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Sunlake: Bigger, Stronger, Faster

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By EDDIE DANIELS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 20, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Just call Sunlake football coach Bill Browning "Dad."

Like any parent, Browning is hoping to see some type of progression. Babies turn their babbles to words and eventually go from crawling to walking.

Last season, the Sunlake players were just babies against a much older crowd. An 0-10 season under their belt and a second spring practice under way, Browning and his group of Seahawks are itching for that first step.

"We've improved so much in both strength and speed," Sunlake tight end Chris Harrington said. "We're light years from where we started from last spring. Last year, we didn't even have pads, so this year, we knew who could hit and we put them in the best place where they can make the team productive.

"Mentally, everyone came out here, knew what the plays were and they're aggressive. They're more motivated this time. Last year we didn't have pads until a few weeks before school started."

To no one's surprise, the team struggled, giving up 92 points in its first two games. But in the woes, the Seahawks displayed a bit of a fighting spirit. During that two-game stretch, the Sunlake defense collected five fumble recoveries and were low on penalties.

"This spring, compared to last spring, is like night and day," said Browning, in his second year coaching the squad. "It was flag football for us. We went into last season with one kid benching over 200 pounds. It's a wonder we didn't get a couple kids seriously hurt. We had no business playing that level of competition last year, but we did. We still have a long ways to go, but we're making progress."

In a sense, the team has cut the fat and likely will put out a new, yet-similar product on the field next season. The team lost 13 players from the 2007 roster, most of whom had never played football before and weren't starters.

In addition to a more experienced group, a sense of leadership has cropped up much earlier than it had last season. Instead of the team searching for the leaders in the fray of the regular season, as was the case last year, the team will enter a new campaign with those leaders in place.

"We're getting stronger, that's one big thing," Browning said. "We're getting some better leadership out of some of our upperclassmen. Last year we were still looking for leaders. And we're getting some kids who were on last year's JV team, who are coming up and developing.

"The work ethic's been good, the attitude's been good and they're very coachable, they're learning. You've got that learning curve and we still have a long ways to go, but we're going to get there."

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