Wootton Coach Has Team Focused on Discipline, Preparation for 2011

Football has been a part of Eddie Tolliver's life since he was six-years-old when he began playing youth football. It's been a passion nearly his whole life. The second-year Wootton coach is looking to ignite that same passion in his varsity football team and he’s doing so with an emphasis and focus on teamwork, preparation, and most of all, discipline.

"When we say practice starts at three, it starts at three," Tolliver said. "That doesn't mean you're lacing your shoes up or strapping your chin strap on at three. It means you're ready to go to work and get the job done right when practice starts. Establishing discipline and maintaining that discipline is a big part of what we do."

Additionally, Tolliver has been a strong proponent of community involvement, wanting to create an atmosphere where the school community feels apart of the team, specifically the players' parents and families. A "Meet the Coaches Night" this Wednesday, for example, is all part of Tolliver's "open door policy," where he says he wants to be accessible to players and families.

"I always tell the kids that I am pretty much accessible day and night," Tolliver said. "I don't hide anything and I want our players and their parents to be able to come to me."

As a member of Maryland's Class 4A, Wootton competes in one of the most competitive divisions in the state. And the school has struggled of late keeping pace with some of the stronger teams in Montgomery County 4A such as Sherwood, Gaithersburg, and Quince Orchard. In fact, Wootton has had just one winning season since 1992 and has made the playoffs just one time in the last 20 seasons (a 7-4 mark in 2008 earned the Patriots a spot in the post-season). Tolliver went 2-8 his first season as head coach in 2010.

But Tolliver, who is the fifth head coach in the last 15 years, is looking to create a culture where the team values hard work and preparation more than anything else. Which in turn, he believes, will benefit them in the long-term and will translate into on-the-field wins.

When asked about his goals and expectations for the 2011 season, Tolliver simply said, "being better."

He added: "Our goal is to get better each day. We want to be consistent across the board and focus on the fundamentals of each phase of the game."

One of the players Tolliver is relying on this season includes left tackle Ben Killion. At 6-foot-6, 280-lbs, the offensive lineman is one of the most physically imposing players in the county.

"He's not just a good player," Tolliver said of Killion. "He's one of those players you want other guys to model."

Defensively, senior free safety Cornelius Waiman will be Tolliver's go-to leader on that side of the ball.

With the opening game a little more than a week away, Tolliver is approaching the season focused on each game as it comes, not allowing himself, his staff or his players to get too far ahead of themselves. Right now, he only has Walt Whitman, the team's opponent on Sept. 2, on the mind.

"The Whitman game is really going to set the tone for the year," Tolliver said. "It will really tell us a lot about our football team from an identity standpoint. We've been working at this for so long. It's really going to tell us if all the hard work has paid off."