After playing just two games last season due to COVID-19 complications, Fort Worth Country Day is gearing up for the 2021 season – with all new faces leading the charge.

Back in January, FWCD announced Leigh Block as its new athletic coordinator. Two months later, the head football coach position was filled as well, with Keith Burns taking the reins.

Burns brings both NFL and college football coaching experience, having served as an assistant special teams coach on the Oakland Raiders from 2012-2013 and on numerous collegiate programs, including a brief head coaching stint at Tulsa at the turn of the century.

He also was the head coach of Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, CA, leading the Monarchs to an 18-17 mark in three seasons.

Burns now leads a team that lacks varsity experience due to the shortened season in 2020. However, he looks at 2021 as a clean slate – regardless of the amount of snaps his squad has seen.

“The bottom line is every season, regardless of the number of games, is a fresh start,” Burns said. “Whether you've had a veteran team, or you got a young team, or somewhere in between. It's a new beginning. It's a different team that will take on a life of its’ own.”

Burns listed these players as people to look out for during the 2021 season:

• Kurt Kimmel, QB
• Mac Toomey, FB, LB
• Patrick Sheats, OL, DL
• Rogan Crumley, RB, LB

All four of the players above are senior captains for the Falcons. Other impact players include:

• Paul Ray, JR, RB, MLB
• Andrew Edwards, SO, QB

While these players will likely highlight Friday nights for FWCD, Burns anticipates others to step up, sometimes in unexpected fashion.

Burns has coached many different teams, squads in all sorts of varying situations and varying skill level. Through all of this, he has noticed a few distinct attributes in his more successful squads.

“I'm looking for a team that has a great character, a great chemistry and a toughness,” said Burns. “None of that I just mentioned has anything to do with talent or athletic ability. I think those things in my career have proven over time that tough guys with great character that create great chemistry with their teammates, in the locker room, on campus and on the playing field…those have been the best teams I've been around.”

In the end, Burns wants to make his community proud by winning the right way.

“I want to build a program that everybody can be proud of, that plays the game the right way, that respects the game and that has a great deal respect for our opponents,” he said.

Burns and the Falcons look to do just that as the 2021 season gets underway.