The Justin-Siena High football team begins spring practice on Monday with two narratives being equally true.
The first one is that second year head coach Brandon LaRocco hopes experience is his best teacher when it comes to being in the director’s chair. The second one is that the Braves hope to demonstrate that last season’s 3-7 record is an aberration, not a trend, after a 19-year run under former head coach Rich Cotruvo in which the program went 144-74 with six CIF North Coast Section titles.
Last season was a whirlwind for LaRocco, who is a 1998 Justin graduate that played for and coached under Cotruvo. The administration and Cotruvo, who has since become the head coach at Terra Linda, publically decided to part ways in April 2016 due to philosophical differences. The Braves quickly named LaRocco, who was a long time assistant, as the next head coach after Cotruvo was left.
LaRocco’s 2017 offseason has been a life-changer off the field with he and his spouse, Miranda, welcoming their second child into the world.
With a full calendar year of helmsmanship, LaRocco has had time to evaluate the program from his perspective along with the staff. LaRocco hopes that a full offseason of meetings and going to clinics translate to more victories along with improved technique and schemes.
Last season, Justin lost its opener 48-14 to Piedmont. Though it rebounded to beat Sacred Heart, 26-13, one week later, the team lost its next three games by a combined score of 139-6. The Braves were never the same. Injuries did the team no favors as well, including but not limited to quarterback Aidan Willard, who later signed a letter of intent to play for Oregon State.
“The first thing we tried to focus on was getting a better commitment from our team to the weight room, and while we made progress we still need to get better there,” LaRocco said. “Both Coach (Tyler) Streblow and I were first year coordinators last year, so having a season's worth of film to analyze and review has been huge. There is no supplement for experience, everything looks unbeatable or unstoppable on paper.”
By his own admission, LaRocco had to humble himself when the season was over.
“I learned a lot through the ups and downs of my first year as a head coach, and I am a much better for it,” LaRocco said. “I can’t tell you how grateful our staff is to last years team, particularly our seniors. Despite our struggles those kids never gave up on us, they played their hearts out until the very last game. It really says a lot about the quality of their character.”
If there is one luxury the Braves have being a CIF North Coast Section Div. IV team, they play schools of Div. II and III enrollments during the regular season. As a result, if Justin even goes 5-5, the playoffs are on the table.
The Braves begin spring practice on Monday. During the summer, Justin will compete in 7-on-7 passing league against fellow Napa Valley schools American Canyon, Napa, Vintage and St. Helena. The Braves will also partake in a 7-on-7 tournament at De La Salle in late June. The team will also have practice throughout the summer on a Monday-Thursday basis with a team retreat to the Russian River scheduled in July.
Justin has four nonleague games before beginning its 17th season in the Marin County Athletic League. Piedmont, Sacred Heart, Bishop O’Dowd and Hercules are the nonleague foes.
“The boys are definitely determined to improve upon last year’s record and get back to the playoffs,” LaRocco said. “Our numbers are also moving back up, last year we started the spring with just under 25 varsity players, and we have just over 30 to start this spring. I think we all are hoping that the major aberration from last year was the number of injuries we had to deal with. We are really looking forward to getting backing on the field and representing our families, our schools, and the greater community with heart and pride.”
For the Braves, 2017 is about rediscovering what the program was, as opposed to what they were in 2016.
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