By Zach Deppa
Sports Editor
zachary.deppa0009@mb.rctc.edu
RCTC head football coach Eric Waldstein oversees conditioning exercises at a recent practice. (Photo courtesy of Scott Jacobson of the Rochester Post-Bulletin)
As many of you may know, RCTC has hired a new head football coach in Eric Waldstein. He has a great history as he has coached for Carthage, Cornell, Morningside and several other colleges over the last 18 years.
“I have known about the RCTC program for a long time,” Waldstein said. “I coached at a junior college and did recruiting from RCTC. There are great opportunities to do well and succeed through a great educational location.”
Waldstein shared that they do not have quite as many players as he would like, but the players he does have are very talented and athletic. One of the goals he is focusing on for improving his team is the little things.
“We need to eliminate penalties, and focus on the little things such as technique, footwork, and hand placement,” he said. “Because little things can turn into big results.”
There are a lot of challenges and struggles to go through as a football team. Waldstein explained what he believes will be the challenge of the season.
“Trying to learn a new system, and the starting of building a culture of responsibility, accountability, and class,” he said. “Which is what we want to be the standard of what junior college football should be.”
He shared that many of the games they play in the early season will be good tests, and a great way to see where they are at in the conference. He is not sure where they will end up, but says it is a long season and that he and his players are ready for the challenge. His goals for the team are to stay healthy, get to the conference championship game, and hopefully reach a bowl game.
He named some of the prominent players to watch this season. They are quarterback Jamal Stovall, linebacker Eli Smith, running back Montrel Moore, defensive back Treevon Prater, linebacker Brandon Perce, wide receiver Connor Watts, and wide receiver Troy Bitterle.
“We want to be the model of junior college football,” Waldstein said of his coaching philosophy. “Winning games is great but having our guys graduate and move onto a four year school is our main priority.”