TexasFootball.com Interview: Sinton head coach Michael Troutman

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TexasFootball.com caught up with Sinton Pirates head coach Michael Troutman to discuss his program's chances this season. The Pirates finished 8-4 in 2020, including a 4-0 mark in District 16-4A.

Who are some of your key returning players, and which players do you think will step up this season and why?

“Key returning players on the offensive side, you got Rylan Galvan, running back, dynamic player, team leader. Just a phenomenal athlete. You have his brother at quarterback, Rene Galvan, his twin brother, who is also just a dynamic athlete. You got both of them sitting back there in the backfield. They just take control of the games. We are returning all the linemen as well.  [We are] returning all five starters. On the offensive side, we're returning nine starters, and they have all started since the sophomore year. The past two years we've gone three rounds; they have playoff experience. This is nothing new to them. This is their year to really do things. On the defensive side of the ball, we have returning linebacker, Blake Mitchell, First-Team All-District selection. [He’s] a leader out there. [He] takes control of the defense. He’s basically our defensive captain and gets everybody in line. [He’s a] great tackler and runs to the ball well. Good-sized kid. On the D-line, you have Jaquae Stewart, who will be a junior, and Logan Dewald at nose guard, that are just playmakers in the trenches. They get off blocks, are quick and strong and have a desire to get to the ball and make things happen on the defensive line. Secondary wise, we're returning a cornerback by the name of Jaedin Howard, who has had a great offseason, has gotten bigger, has gotten stronger, has gotten faster, loves the game, and is a great cover corner, but also is dynamic in coming up and setting the edge and stopping the run. We’re looking at 10 and nine, offensive and defensive returners. This is nothing new for them. They've been through the playoffs. They have the playoff experience. They know what it takes. Now, we're going to have a target on our back, and that's understood. These kids know that nothing is going to be handed to them. It's going to be earned, and it started with offseason. We had a great offseason. They love the weight room, the foundation of our athletic program for all sports. Football is built in the weight room, and these kids have bought into the weight room. When we get into summer, is just a continuation of offseason. When we get into the season, it's the same thing. We're still building to get stronger. When we make those playoff runs, we are getting stronger, and we're going into the playoff weeks stronger and better than when we started when the season began.”

Which team in District 16-4A DII do you think is going to be a sleeper, and which team will you have to watch out for?

“You know, Rockport is always a competitor. Coach [Jay] Seibert does an excellent job over there coaching those kids. Kids that believe in the system they have over there. They run the Slot-T to perfection. They have tough kids… no matter what the records are, they are always a tough opponent. At Ingleside, coach Hamrick over there has really done a good job of bringing those kids up and building that program. They're always a tough opponent as well. We [also] have three Valley teams: Rio Hondo, Port Isabel and Raymondville, who are in our district, but because of COVID, we actually had to split into zones. We didn't have an opportunity to play them last year because they were in the South Zone, and all the Coastal Bend teams were in the North Zone. This year, if all goes well, and we're able to keep the full district schedule, we will be playing Rio Hondo, Port I and Raymondville. Those coaches over there do a great job with those kids. They're going to be tough opponents. The bottom line is that we look at every week as a faceless opponent. We have to concentrate on getting better as a Sinton Pirate football team. It's all about what we do, and that's our focus. The coaches worry about the opponent. The coaches make the adjustment. The coaches come up with the game plan. But our focus every week is this execution. Doing your job and going out there and being better than what you were the week before and continuing to get better throughout the season and throughout the playoffs.”

I noticed last season all four of your losses were outside of district play. You tend to schedule a lot of really tough non-district opponents. Can we expect the same this year? If so, what’s reasoning behind that?

“That is the reasoning behind it. I want to play tough opponents in the preseason. I think that playing tougher opponents prepares you for districts and prepares you for the playoffs. I want to see speed. We get that when we play Miller. I want to see size. I want to see good quarterbacks, and we're gonna see that when we face Orange Grove with a really talented quarterback they have back there. You know, we actually played Beeville last year, but we that was because of the COVID deal. We're going back to the original schedule. We're playing Corpus Christi Carroll and coach is doing a great job over there. They got some good-sized lineman I want to be able to go up against along with Miller. That is the reason why I want to play tough opponents. Last year, our deal was that we were young on defense, and we weren't able to put four quarters of football together early in the season. That was the big component to our losses; we were going into the fourth quarter winning those games, with the exception of Miller, and the kids had not grasped the concept that you got to play until it’s 0:00 on the scoreboard. During those preseason games, we're looking to see which players are going to step up. We’re looking to see which players we're going to depend on. By playing those tougher opponents, you really get a true judgment and test about what your players are made of.”

Going into this season, what is one thing you want the Sinton community to know about this year's team?

“That we go out and represent the Never Ending S, the Sinton Pirate football team, with character and integrity. These kids work hard. They buy into what we have to offer as a coaching staff. They play for this community. They played for the alumni that played in the past. It's called Pirate Pride when we put that Never Ending S helmet on and have that written across our jersey. This team, when they get knocked down, they fight to get back up. Our program is built on four pillars: discipline, toughness, unity and integrity. When people see us out there, we're going to play to play the game the way it's meant to be played. We're going to respect the game the way it's meant to be respected, and we're going to be tough. Tough players win ballgames; we're not going to back down. We’re going to get knocked down, but we're going to get right back up and continue fighting and play four quarters of Pirate football. That's what we stand on. We're not about the fancy, dressing up… we're just football. Straight, tough football. That's what you can expect out of these Sinton Pirates. All of these kids on the baseball team are all football players. They’re all football players. We're building the total athlete. We carry that football mentality onto the baseball field. We carry it on to the basketball courts. We carry it onto the track for track and field. When it's that fourth quarter fight, it's that seventh inning fight, it's that last 100 meters or 50 meters fight. That’s what these people are going to get out of this team. They're gonna go four quarters of football and give everything they have. They’re tough kids, really tough kids. They play for this community because it's important to represent what that Never Ending S stands for.”

What is one life lesson you try to get across to your players each year?

“Life is gonna hand you all types of adversity. You’re going to get knocked down. But it's not about how hard you get hit, it's about what you do when you get hit. The life lesson that we tell these kids is that when you get knocked down, you pick your chin up, you get right back up, and you keep moving forward. Because that's what life's all about. It's going to be tough. It's going to be hard. But you fight through it. Football is hard. Football is a very demanding sport, but there's a reason for it. That reason is why we make our practices harder than the games, and that's our philosophy here. We are going to practice hard. We are going to condition after every practice. We're going to push these kids to the limit in practice. And then when we get to the games, it's a lot easier for them, and I don't mean easier as in easier in opponents. It's something that's just put into their heads. When life hands you those adversities, you got to get right back up, and you got to keep fighting. That scoreboard will never define us. The character, the integrity, the toughness in the fight, is what defines our teams. As a coach, I know that I am defined by wins and losses. Being a coach, being in this business for so long, I understand that, but it won't define our team. What will define our team is the fight that they have in them, the four quarters of fight that they give throughout the whole game, the toughness that they put out on the field. That's what defines these Sinton Pirates.”

In 2018, you guys finished 2-8. In 2019 and 2020, you guys made it to the third round. What is the ideal next step?

“The next step is to make it past the third round. That’s these kids’ goal is to get past the third round and make a deeper run in the playoffs. Like I said, they've experienced the third round two years in a row, and they're not satisfied. They want to go deeper. They want to get to the Regional Finals game. They want to be able to get past the Regional Finals game. If you don't say it, then you can't believe it. They want to be able to make it to the State Championship. That is their goal, and they believe it, and that's half the battle. You got to believe in order to get there. There’s no doubt in their mind that they can do it. There's a lot of luck that goes into the season as far as injury wise, and you got to have some luck playing into it. It all comes down to hard work. Regardless of the target we have on our back, regardless of what goals we have, it comes down to working hard every day with every opportunity so that we're able to make them deep runs, and that's what these kids’ goals are. They know that going into practice, they got to work hard. They know that in order to make these deep runs, there's lots of quality teams out there that have the same goals. It's about execution and doing your job and laying it on the line for one another. Because you can't be a selfish player. You got to be an unselfish player, and you got to play for each other. That’s one thing these kids do. The brotherhood they have with themselves and with our coaching staff, that all plays a role into these goals that they have.”

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