Attracting players, getting them in game shape key for Cards coach Bahr
MEDICAL LAKE — Just like almost every other team in the country, Medical Lake football players have not snapped a ball in real competition in about 15 months.
Unlike most everyone else, however, Cardinals head football coach Jeremy Bahr finds that in the absence of actual competition since his team was roughed up by Deer Park 62-12 on Nov. 1, 2019, a number of players have simply gotten on with real life.
The team has 50 players turning out, 28 on varsity and junior varsity with 22, but many older kids took the time to go get jobs — some in order to assist their parents and families just get by, Bahr explained.
Medical Lake travels to Colville on Saturday, March 6 for the first of what are five scheduled games. The Cards return home next Friday, March 12 to host Deer Park at 7 p.m. but under the current Phase 2, no fans are allowed to be inside Holliday Field.
A true challenge has been a lack of Bahr’s key recruiting tool — face-to-face contact.
With COVID-19 closing school buildings, Bahr lost all-important ability to connect with kids in person. “The challenges are just reeling in those kids and trying to communicate what the expectations and what the season looks like,” Bahr said, considering the high school has only had kids in the halls since Feb. 1.
Of the underclassmen who last buckled the chinstrap as juniors and played, just one, Ashton Hamilton-Becker, is the lone senior with game experience. Hamilton-Becker was the Cards’ quarterback in the 0-8 season, throwing for 871 yards and eight touchdowns. And of course, like many others, he lines up on both sides of the ball as a defensive back.
“I just want to rave on him,” Bahr said of Hamilton-Becker, who has stayed the course and has been a leader to the underclassmen. “He was usually spearheading efforts to get his teammates there (to conditioning) and to hold them accountable.”
Now is not only a strange time in history but as Bahr sees it, quite memorable for his players.
“As we’re progressing through the start of the season, and now we’re in a game week, I remind the kids that they’re true pioneers,” Bahr said. “High school football has never been played in the state of Washington in March and April. So it’s a pretty, pretty interesting, pretty neat deal for the kids and for the coaches.”
Finding players might be one thing but trying to hustle many into playing condition is another, Bahr explained.
“Another challenge, honestly, is just truly getting the kids back into condition, back into shape,” he said. “There is a large group of kids who were pretty much stagnant and isolated and now it’s let’s get the ball rolling.”
Naturally it hasn’t been perfect, Bahr said. “But we’ve just got to be thankful for the opportunity to get back into those routines that we were accustomed to.”
This is Bahr’s third season as head coach and the Medical Lake grad knew the territory very well having served as an assistant coach for many years. He’s just 2-16 so far but looks at now as being a time where the corner just might be turned.
“We have a great opportunity to develop our kids over the next eight or nine months leading up to next fall,” he said.
Paul Delaney is a retired former Free Press Publishing reporter and can be reached at pauldelaney53@comcast.net.
Medical Lake 2021 Winter/Spring Football
Saturday, March 6 at Colville at, 1 p.m.
Friday, March 12 vs. Deer Park, 7 p.m.
Friday, March 19 at Lakeside at, 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 1 vs. Freeman, 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 10 vs. Riverside, 1 p.m.
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