NOTE: There are only 28 days left until the start of the 2015 high school football season -- both around the state and right here in northeast Georgia. With that in mind, AccessWDUN is already in full preparation mode. Over the next three weeks we will give you a sneak peek of what’s in store for 2015 with our "Two-A-Days" series. We will bring you two key questions -- and answers -- for each program in our coverage area, twice a day. Each morning will start a new program, with another highlighted each afternoon. And at the end of each week we will also provide some video footage and commentary from area coaches. Programs will run in alphabetical order.
West Hall coach Tony Lotti has improved the Spartans wins each year in his first three seasons. Now, he says it is time to take things to another level.
The Spartans will open the season as the odds-on favorite to repeat as Region 7-AAA champs. But Lotti said region titles mean little if they can't sustain the success in the playoffs. They were knocked off by Oconee County in the first round to end the 2014 season, leaving a bitter taste in their pallets.
We caught up with Lotti, who said consistency will be a main focus for his group as they prepare for the 2015 campaign.
QUESTION: After winning the program’s first-ever region title, what steps have y’all taken in your quest to move the program to the next level of not only making the playoffs but winning in the playoffs?
ANSWER: This offseason we spent a lot of time on the mental aspects of things. We want to take ourselves to a different type of consistency. Last year we came off a big win [35-0 over Lumpkin County] in the final game to win the region and then had a big letdown in the playoffs [a 42-38 loss to Oconee County in the first round]. What we want the kids to learn is how to play at a consistent level every week, not get too high or too low, no matter whether it is the regular season or playoffs. The championship teams know how to do that. Winning in the playoffs is a big goal for us. Understanding how to win in the playoffs is something we have to learn how to do. Everyone in the playoffs is 0-0 and you have to be ready to bring your best no matter who the opponent is.
QUESTION: In conjunction with the previous question, you return most of your starters on both sides of the ball and on special teams. How important in building lasting stability is developing depth and is that a high priority heading into the fall practice this season?
ANSWER: To me building depth is everything. If you graduate a lot of people and don’t have guys ready to step in, you have to start over rebuilding a team. When I first got here one of the things we talked about was building a program and not just a team. We want all the guys to have the ‘next man up’ mentality because there are always injuries and graduations every year. We feel over the last three years we have developed a lot of depth at the skilled positions so I like where we are at there. We also have several returning linemen, not just starters, but other guys as well that got some playing time so we could develop that depth. Everyone is this program understands they have a role to play and those roles change every year. There are several guys who understand that their time has come this year and they need to step up and be ready. Hopefully they will be.
COMING UP NEXT: White County
