New Geneva School of Boerne football coach Grant Gaston is trying to make a molehill out of the mountainous task before him.
Gaston is in his first year with the program that graduated 17 seniors and is trying to familiarize himself with his players while introducing a new system.
Gaston is also new to the area and is trying to get up to speed and learn about all the teams on his schedule for the 2023 season.
Ready or not, the Eagles open the new year Friday with a road trip to Harmony School of Innovation in Katy.
The Eagles have been practicing since July 31 and Gaston said the process has gone well so far.
“Our players are buying into our culture and philosophy: A-B-C or Always Be Competing and are enjoying the camaraderie and Biblical discipleship that we’ve been developing,” he said. “We graduated 17 seniors last year so we’re a very young team, but we’re going to compete fiercely.”
Gaston is the team’s third head coach in three seasons and admits something like that can be taxing on the players, but added that this year’s group is taking things in stride.
“I’ve been at schools that have seen multiple coaching changes in a short time frame and I know how difficult that can be for kids, but our players are resilient,” he said. “They’re mentally tough and they’re ready to fight and finish in love.”
A look at the schedule Gaston is the first to admit that he’s still learning about all the teams on their schedule – both non-district and district opponents – and is familiarizing himself with Geneva’s rivals.
“I’m not as familiar with the teams on our schedule as I am with the TAPPS teams in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex and in East Texas so it’s difficult for me to comment on the strength of schedule,” he said. “I know that we will play some very good teams, both in and out of district, and we need to be ready to step up to the challenges they’ll bring. “
Because Geneva is in a four-team district, the Eagles only have three conference games against two John Paul II schools – Corpus Christi and Schertz – before playing Holy Cross.
It also means they have seven non-district games against Katy Harmony School of Innovation, Dilley, La Pryor, Blanco, Shiner St. Paul Catholic, Milano and Brentwood Christian.
They dropped St. Michael’s, Randolph, Austin Regents and Central Catholic from last year’s schedule and added Katy Harmony, Dilley, La Pryor and Milano in their place.
A look at the team
Coach Gaston said players to watch this year are senior K.P. FitzGerald, senior Jacob Rosenstiel, senior Stephen Syamken, senior Jake Plesko, junior Griffin Miller, junior Caleb Baggs, junior Luke Brunsvold, sophomore Reid Wilson and sophomore Noah Brunsvold.
Last year’s Geneva team went 6-6 overall and 2-1 in district with wins against both John Paul II schools and a loss to Holy Cross.
Once the playoffs started, the Eagles went two rounds deep and defeated The Woodlands Prep Academy before getting knocked out by Houston Cypress Christian.
Gaston said he’s getting to know his players and noted that he likes what he sees and is excited about the upcoming season.
“I love our players and our players love each other, so we’re going to have a great year competing,” he said.
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