Document text
Players excited about Beck's prospects By GREG STILES Days after North Medford's Black Tornado came up short in last year's Class 4A state football final, several players were back in the gym pumping weights and thinking about the fall of 2001. Then on March 8, Coach Rod Rumrey abruptly resigned. There was a sense of foreboding among some of the players looking forward to their senior season. They knew that offensive coordinator Brent Barry and defensive coordinator John Beck were applying for the job, but they also heard the swirl of rumors about this or that coach coming from the outside. Several of the players approached athletic director Mike Kay about their concern that their senior season might be lost if a new coach and new system came to town. "We were definitely worried about a new head coach coming in and switching things around," said junior linebacker Alan Borelli on Monday afternoon. "We saw in Grants Pass what happens when you switch an entire offense around. We didn't want someone to come in here and say our system wasn't the way to go. We wanted to keep it in the family." Borelli and his teammates got their wish on Monday when Beck was named head coach. "Both coach Beck and Barry have worked with us and have our best interest at heart," Borelli said. "They know what they are doing. It's kind of a relief to have the same goals and to be working for the same things." Although the players got what they hoped for, it's not clear how much their desires were weighed in the process. "The point to remember," said outgoing principal Don Lacey, "is that kids are only in a program for a four-year period and we wanted to make sure the program is successful for years and years." Wide receiver Brian Weeks said the important thing to him was keeping things familiar and not having to go through a learning curve. "After coach Beck gave us his little spiel this morning," Weeks said, "I congratulated him and shook his hand. Then I shook coach Barry's hand. What a relief." And with passing leagues and other summer workouts just around the bend, the Tornado is ready to get on with business. "It doesn't seem like we skipped a beat of any kind," Borelli said. "Coach Beck knows what he's doing and he's going to leave the offense to coach Barry. It's the same old, same old." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.