Upperman 1-0 Despite Injury-Filled Summer

The Upperman Football team limped into week one following an off season of increased injuries, but head coach Adam Caine said he is thankful to walk out of week one unscathed and 1-0.

After being last year’s state runner-up, Caine said he feels like this roster can finish the job in 2024. But, after some players went down in the spring and summer, Caine said a few injuries to a few position groups could have derailed a promising season before it even started.

“I spend a lot of time down on my knees praying to god that these guys stay healthy,” Caine said. “And so, we’ve over the last ten days we’ve got some guys back that have helped us a lot, so I’m pleased with that.”

Caine said in his 32 years of coaching that for whatever reason he has noticed season-ending injuries becoming more prevalent. Caine said players, especially seniors, get discouraged when injuries pop up this early in the season and it is challenging to keep their spirits high.

“Football is a hard enough game to play when you’re 100% healthy,” Caine said. “So, I try to stay positive with them, it’s hard. Especially when it’s guys you really, really need and guys who are really impactful for your team.”

With this summer seeing many contributing players miss practices and scrimmages, the back-ups and underclassmen have been able to make a name for themselves. Caine said injuries are always unfortunate but creating depth for the season ahead has been the silver lining.

“I do think that it’s important for the guys that are replacing them when they’re injured to really focus and take advantage of their time on the field,” Caine said. “In a lot of cases, it allows the coaching staff to develop a little confidence in a young person.”

Unlike some programs that have a full-time training staff who dedicate all of their time to keeping athletes healthy and ready to play, Upperman uses volunteers. Caine said the program is lucky to have these trainers help the team, but since it is not full time, the consistency of recovery is not present within his program.

“It’s been kind of spotty in their rehab and so I think that’s created a bit of an obstacle on getting these guys back,” Caine said. “We work pretty hard and the girls that have been coming and helping us, I think we’ve gotten them to at least have a plan of attack for these guys that are injured.”

The Upperman Bees travel to Lebanon. Coverage of that game will start at 6:30 on Sports Radio 104.7.