New or returning coaches to lead Rocket athletics this season

A school that has been around since John Heisman threw on a leather helmet and transformed the game of football into what we know today, the tradition of Titusville Rocket sports continues.

And this fall there are several new faces bringing new hope for the future of brown and gold athletics.
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Four new head coaches will be looking to build upon, or rebuild programs in girls volleyball, golf, cross county and boys soccer.
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Volleyball

The girls volleyball team is coming off a successful year, but returning former head coach Sarah Braun isn’t even paying attention to last season because she want to start with a clean slate and build a program that will last for years to come.

Braun was a member of the Rockets’ 2005 state runner-up squad and coached the team for a successful four years. She returns this year as a third grade teacher and the new Rockets’ head coach.

“I don’t know anyone, which is great. I don’t want to know what grade they are in and I tell them ‘don’t tell me what position you played last year.’ I want everyone to have the same chances ,” she said.  “It’s a blank canvas. I just want to see what we have to work with and anyone coming in who is new is working hard and anyone who played before will be working just as hard for that spot.” 
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She left coaching for a little while to raise her young family and that has given her som valuable perspective to move forward.

“When I coached before I wanted it(winning,) perhaps more than the girls,” she said. “So that was something I had to learn. I just have to teach them.”

She admits she is coming back a little wiser.

“We are going back to basics and from the basics confidence will come.”
Emphasizing fundamentals she hopes to develop better passing and footwork. The former libero understands it starts with a good pass.

Titusville will be playing again this season with a AAA in region three with Franklin, Oil City, Greenville,Hickory, Grove City, Mercer, Sharon, Slippery Rock and Sharpsville.

Boys Soccer

In boys soccer they are looking for a 2001 graduate who has trained cyclists and triathletes all over the world, as well as played soccer in college and in Europe to lead the charge.
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Adam Diem comes into a program that has struggled for years to put W’s on the board.
He says Titusville has a great youth soccer program and sees potential to build upon the work being done with these young athletes.

“We’re young,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to build.”

He said they have 14 or15 sophomores and five or six freshmen. He’d like to see a team of 24-28 kids.
“It’s exciting to have a young team with a lot of opportunity,” he said. He is hoping bringing strong fundamentals into their everyday life and building their stamina will  pay dividends in the end.

“We’re really focussing on three things: work hard. do the right thing and have fun. If we can do those three things and do them successfully I think we have a chance at winning.”

He does want the kids to set the goals for the season knowing they have not exactly had a culture of a winning attitude in sometime.

“Goals need to come from the players. You have to have goals. They have to be obtainable, but it needs to be these players setting them, not me,” he said. “I want to help these kids believe they are part of something bigger.” ​
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Golf

The boys golf team is being taken over by a Titusville emotional support teacher who is a former Maplewood golf coach and graduate.
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Matt Dailey coached a state qualifier at Maplewood and was part of a very successful program in the early 2000s.

His dad got him into the sport at 11 and in the tenth grade he decided to quit other sports to focus on golf. “Not to bash other sports, but I am still playing golf today,” he said emphasizing that many of his friends that played other sports wished they took up golf earlier.

“I like to help others find their game,” he said about wanting to coach. Though he doesn’t know the players well that he’ll be coaching, he is optimistic that he will instill in them the love he has for the game.
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“Golf is a game of integrity and just as important as that, it is a lifelong game,” he said getting a little into a philosophical lesson. “And the game itself is a lot like life. You’re going to make a lot of mistakes and the way you overcome those mistakes determines the end of your round. And you get lucky once in a while. Just like in life, you might get a good bounce.”

The main thing he hopes for is getting kids out on the gold course to enjoy life.

“Realistically going into this season, not knowing ability levels, I really want them to enjoy the game and have fun because I remember being in their shoes with my friends on the golf course how much we had fun.”

He, as with all the new Rocket coaches, he is stressing the fundamentals.

“I just want them to learn the game.The short game is important, 85% of the game is played inside of 50 yards. Putting and chipping are really important. I can’t stress that enough. Driving the ball far is a lot of fun but there is a reason the saying is ‘drive for show, putt for dough,’ he said. “I want them to hit the ball straight off the tee, but those next shots are really important.”
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Cross Country

In Cross Country, long time coach Joe Covell stepped down and one of his former runners, Shane Steffy stepped in. Though swimming is Steffy’s big sport, he knows the importance of cross country as a sport. He has competed in ultra-marathons and plans on competing in the Oil Creek 100 again this year.
 “I enjoy running, it puts my mind at ease.” 

The coast guard veteran recently accepted a job as the boys health and physical education teacher at the Titusville Middle School and also is the head girls swim coach.

The 2018 Titusville graduate said he knows some of the athletes, but is excited to get to know more of them as he builds for the future of the cross country program.

“I want all the kids to have fun and come back next year. That is goal number one. Success comes after that. If they are having a good time and they are still training hard, and they are passionate about it, then success will follow. So I want to be sure the kids want to be here.”
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Steffy understands strategy and team goals.

“We just have to work on training. Most of the time when it comes to cross country, it comes to mental fortitude and ‘can I push my body this hard’ and ‘do I want to push my body this hard.’ That’s what it comes down to. You are going to have to want to want it. That’s a big part of it.”

But success isn’t just coming in first place, it is coming in at your best. 

“It s really great if you win, but it's usually third, fourth or fifth places that really decide if your going to win as a team or not, Steffy said. “They work just as hard as the (top) runners and they have to have the drive as well if the team is going to succeed.”

A new chapter for Titusville’s long history of quality cross country begins. Steffy said he will rely heavily at the beginning with his assistant coach Ryan Zacherl who has been with the program and has an extreme love of running.

Schedules

Girls Volleyball Varsity
8/23 at ACV Volleyball Tournement, 9 a.m.
8/26 at Allegheny-Clarion, 7 p.m.
8/30 at Fort LeBoeuf, 8 a.m.
9/2 at Union City, 7:15 p.m.
9/4 at Mercyhurst, 7:15 p.m.
9/6 at Franklin “Spiketacular”, 8:30 a.m.
9/9 Home against Seneca, 7:15 p.m.
9/11 Home against Fairview, 7:15 p.m.
9/16 Home against Sharpsville, 7:15 p.m.
9/18 at Oil City, 7:15 p.m.
9/20 at Meadville Tournament, 8:30 a.m.
9/22 Home against Hickory, 7:15 p.m.
9/25 at Franklin, 7:15 p.m.
9/30 Home against Grove City, 7:15 p.m.
10/2 Home against Sharon, 7:15 p.m.
10/7 at Slippery Rock, 7:15 p.m.
10/9 Home against Mercer, 7:15 p.m.
10/14 at Greenville, 7:15 p.m.

Boys and Girls Cross Country Varsity
8/30 Home, Rocket Invite, 8 a.m.
9/9 at Oil City, 4 p.m.
9/13 at Commodore Perry, 9 a.m.
9/23 at Conneaut, 4 p.m.
9/27 Cardinal Classic, at Cochranton, 9 a.m.
10/4 Dirty Dawg, at Harbor Creek, 8 a.m.
10/7 Home against Franklin, 4 p.m.
10/11 at Two Mile Run, TBA

Boys Golf Varsity
8/7 at Lakeview, 8:30 a.m.
8/11 at Oil City, 9 a.m.
8/14 Home against Greenville
8/18 Home against Union City, 9 a.m.
8/19 at Corry, 9 a.m.
8/27 Home, Titusville, 1 p.m.
9/3 at Conneaut, 9:30 a.m.
9/4 at Corry, 9:30 a.m.
9/11 at Lakeview, 9 a.m.
9/16 Marquette Invitational, at Country Club of Meadville, 8:30 a.m.
9/18 Bill Mook, at Wanango Golf Club, 9 a.m.
9/22 Franklin Mega, at Wanango, 10 a.m.
9/23 Rocky Grove Mega, at Lucky Hills, 9 a.m.
9/24 Tam O’Shanter, at Hermitage, 9:30 a.m.

Boys Soccer Varsity
8/23 at Ft. Leboeuf, 1 p.m.
8/25 at Warren, 5 p.m.
8/27 at Eisenhower, 3:30 p.m.
9/2 Home against Iroquois, 6 p.m.
9/4 at Mercyhurst, 4 p.m.
9/6 Home against Franklin, 12 p.m.
9/8 Home against Seneca, 6 p.m.
9/10 Home against Saegertown, 6 p.m.
9/13 at West Middlesex, 11 a.m.
9/18 at Corry, 6 p.m.
9/22 Home against Eisenhower, 4 p.m.
9/24 at Iroquois, 4 p.m.
9/30 Home against Mercyhurst, 6 p.m.
10/2 at Seneca, 5 p.m.
10/6 at Saegertown, 4 p.m.
10/11 Home against Greenville, 12 p.m.
10/14 Home against Corry, 6 p.m.
10/15 Home against Conneaut, 4 p.m.


Girls Soccer Varsity
8/23 Home against Grove City, 12 p.m.
8/26 at Seneca, 6 p.m.
9/1 at Erie, 5 p.m.
9/2 at Sharon, 4 p.m.
9/11 Home against General McLane, 4 p.m.
9/13 Home against Warren, 10 a.m.
9/15 at Cathedral Prep, 6 p.m.
9/17 Home against Fairview, 6 p.m.
9/20 at Slippery Rock, 1 p.m.
9/23 at Ft. Leboeuf, 5:30 p.m.
9/25 at Conneaut, 6 p.m.
9/29 Home against Corry, 6 p.m.
10/1 Home against North East, 6 p.m.
10/7 Home against Conneaut, 6 p.m.
10/9 at Corry, 5:30 p.m.
10/11 Home against Franklin, 10 a.m.
10/13 at North East, 5 p.m.
10/15 at Meadville, 6 p.m.

Boys Football Varsity
08/22 Home against Corry, 7 p.m.
08/29 Home against Girard 7 p.m.
09/05 at Grove City, 7 p.m.
09/12 at Conneaut, 7 p.m.
09/19 at Warren, 7 p.m.
09/26 Home against North East, 7 p.m.
10/03 at Hickory, 7 p.m.
10/10 Home against Slippery Rock, 7 p.m.
10/16 Home against Sharon, 7 p.m.

Girls Basketball Middle School
8/28 at Maplewood, 4 p.m.
8/29 Home against Corry, 4 p.m.
9/2 Home against Franklin, 4 p.m.
9/4 at Warren, 4 p.m.
9/8 Home against Union City, 4 p.m.
9/10 at Conneaut, 4 p.m.
9/11 at Cambridge Springs, 4 p.m.
9/15 Home against Saegertown, 4 p.m.
9/17 at Iroquois, 4 p.m.
9/22 Home against Lakeview, 4 p.m.
9/24 Home against Maplewood, 4 p.m.
9/25 at Franklin, 4 p.m.
9/29 Home against Warren, 4 p.m.
10/1 at Union City, 4 p.m.
10/2 Home against Conneaut, 4 p.m.
10/6 Home against Cambridge Springs, 4 p.m.
10/8 at Saegertown, 4 p.m.
10/10 at Corry, 4 p.m.
10/14 Home against Iroquois, 4 p.m.
10/16 at Lakeview 4 p.m.

“I’m going to be leaning on him for advice for sure. For a lot of kids this is their main sport. This is the one they love to do so I’m super excited to be a part of that journey for them.”