The Kern Valley football teams participated in a scrimmage with North High and Foothill this past Friday as they get ready for the upcoming season. Photos submitted by Stacey Sanders
The younger Broncs football team is ready for the season to begin. They encounter McFarland to open the year in a Thursday night battle. Kern Valley will go on the road to take on the Cougars. Kick off is slated for 5 p.m.
Head coach Bill Gallis is once again holding the reins for the JV Broncs. It’s his second year at the helm of Kern Valley. Gallis begins his 12th season as a coach at Kern Valley High School. Filling out the rest of the coaching staff is Aaron LaFarga, Bill Chase, Davin Lee, and Kenny King.
Kern Valley goes into the season with the proverbial target on their backs. They are the returning HDL champions and are looking to repeat the effort from last season. The Broncs return 10 players from the title team and this experience gives them a leg up as the prepare for this year.
The goal for the JV Broncs this year according to Gallis is for the players to play the game of football, learning as they go, and to advance their talents in order to be competitive at the varsity level. Gallis talking about the goal said, “The main goal is to get these kids to fall in love with football, bettering themselves and preparing them for the game of life. Once they get to that point, I want them hungry to play varsity football and to compete at a high level.”
His attainment of this goal will be on the players and the coaching staff to reach the goal. This will be done with the proper work effort, an accountability, and finally pushing the players to reach further than they did the previous day. Gallis said, “We can attain these goals by instilling in them a good work ethic, discipline and challenging them daily. Letting them face their challenges head on and developing solutions that benefit themselves and the team.”
The non-league for Kern Valley will be a tough test as they face a diverse group of teams. Their games will hopefully lead them to be able to protect their title repeat hopes. They will do this by forming the team to be a cohesive unit on the field and to gain the game experience needed to take on the other HDL teams. Gallis commenting on the non-league said, “Competition, I want to see who is willing to compete and put the team first. We are inexperienced this year, so I am hoping to get the kids a lot of reps at different positions.”
As the defending champions, the JV Broncs will have to contend with the ever-present Bishop squad and a Rosamond Roadrunner team that is on the rise. In order to accomplish this, Kern Valley have to be prepared to take care of the teams that will be coming for them. Gallis said, “Bishop will be solid, and Rosamond is emerging as a team to watch out for.”
At the JV football level, a team must be talented and be able to avoid the injury bug. They also have to be able for players to be interchangeable as they do battle on the field. According to Gallis the strength of his team is their athleticism. He said, “We are very athletic and can develop depth at every position.” On the flip side, the area for the Broncs that need work is gaining the game experience needed to compete with their opponents. Gallis stated, “We are inexperienced, these kids just need reps and playing time. We have a tough non-league schedule so this should help us develop quickly.”
In closing Gallis commented, “I am really excited for this upcoming season. We had a banner year last year, bringing JV football back to Kern Valley with a title after a four-year absence, and I just want to continue to help grow the program in a positive way. Varsity head coach Scott Tedrow has been a tremendous help getting us the resources we need to compete, and this year’s team has a chance to duplicate last year’s success. I’d like to take this time to thank everyone who helps support and fund Kern Valley football and to those who dedicate their time to make these kids dreams come true. I just invite everyone to come out and watch these kids play and show them the support they deserve.”
When the Kern Valley JV football team takes the field for the first game, will be the stepping stone in repeating as league champions. By the end of the year the hope is to keep the target on their backs for years to come.
