While many see the product on the field year in and year out, they fail to understand the work that goes in behind the scenes to prepare for a season.
Since arriving back on campus in late January, Cortland Football team 118 has endured a grueling training schedule. Training consists of weight lifting groups three times a week and conditioning sessions twice a week at 6 am.
This routine is similar to that of prior teams under head coach Curt Fitzpatrick, but according to captain Zack Thueson there’s an edge in this spring’s preparation. He said, “This year is by far the hardest, most bought-in group of guys I have been around in my playing career.”
Coming off of back-to-back losses at the hands of Cortaca rival Ithaca and playoff foe Randolph-Macon, Cortland football feels they have something to prove this season.
Thueson continues, “the routine we create now definitely molds us into the team we want to be. This team is different in the sense that the schedule we have now is harder than ever. However, it has never been easier because the guys we have want to win badly.”
To Zack’s point, in 2023 the Red Dragons have one of the toughest schedules in division 3 football. With matchups versus four top 25 teams in the country, Delaware Valley, Susquehanna, Utica, and Ithaca the team appears to be up for the challenge.
Thueson adds, “for the last three seasons all we have been told is that we have a breeze of a schedule and that we never play anyone. Well, this year is a chance to prove to the entire country that Red Dragon football should never be overlooked.”
Defensive rookie of the year Shane Patterson is one of the many personally embracing the grind of the schedule.
Patterson said, “we know that these spring workouts are going to ensure we can perform at our best down the stretch of a long season.” He continues, “if we don’t work hard now, it will be obvious in these big-time matchups.”
For players on both ends of the spectrum, Thueson in his senior season and Patterson in his sophomore campaign, the sentiment of we before me is echoed. This attitude could be one neglected last season as the Dragons crippled down the stretch.
“It feels like a family when we are there working,” Patterson said. “Everyone from the tenured captains to the transfer students, it really is like a brotherhood. Now that we’ve experienced failure as a unit, we understand what is needed to reach the next tier of collegiate football.”
After the season’s end, Cortland lost just four starters across the twenty-two-man starting unit. Despite this, almost every spot feels up for the taking throughout spring ball and training camp. This attitude embodies the improvement the coaching staff and fans wish to see from their team this fall.
The defensive rookie of the year ends with, “the expectation is always to set a new expectation.”