Johnsburg Skyhawks: Trying to avoid another winless season
It was a long season last year for fans of the Johnsburg Skyhawks with Johnsburg going winless for the first time since 1994. This season, the Skyhawks will look to new head coach Mike Maloney to try to turn the program around. Maloney comes from Joliet Central High School where he was the head coach for the past two seasons. Maloney was a star at Joliet Catholic High School before playing at the University of Illinois. On the first day of practice Wednesday, Maloney said he is happy to get started with his job in Johnsburg.
“I’m excited to be here,” Maloney said. “We’re just going to take one day at a time and build off each day.”
Maloney has a tough task ahead of him with a program that did not have a sophomore team last season and with limited numbers, getting players who will play both ways will be imperative to Johnsburg’s success in 2012.
“My expectations here is to teach the kids to compete everyday,” Maloney said. “Whether it’s practice to practice or drill to drill, as we do that, that will put them in a mindset where every time we get on the field, it will be a high level of competition.”
Johnsburg will have a tough road ahead of them in the Fox Valley Conference in 2012 with tough games every single week and Maloney said that he is preparing his team to be challenged in every game they play this season.
“There’s not an easy team on the schedule,” Maloney said. “I tell the kids when you are playing poker and you can’t find the easy guy, you’re it. I look at our schedule and there’s not one team that’s not a tough football team. That should get our kids to get motivated as well and put themselves in a position to execute on the field. In the end, it’s high school football and there should be a level of self-motivation no matter who you are playing.”
Johnsburg will begin their 2012 regular season on August 24 at home against Grant High School.
