With Grand Valley State University’s football season right around the corner, there has been a great amount of activity within the team– from practicing at camp to the hire of a new offensive coordinator.
After going 11-2 last season and falling short in the Division II quarterfinals to Harding University, the eventual national champions, there was no shortage of motivation for this team.
However, there are some big changes going into this season– none bigger than the addition of offensive coordinator, Ian Shoemaker. There is a ton of optimism with Coach Shoemaker, as he has a large coaching resume.
As the head coach for Central Washington from 2014-2019 Shoemaker led the team to a 45-20 record and was able to capture two conference championships. More recently, Shoemaker was the coordinator for both Eastern Washington, one of the most explosive offenses in the country at the time, and Hawaii.
Since the announcement of Shoemaker’s hire, second-year Head Coach Scott Wooster has been thrilled.
“This hire creates great continuity, as he is aligned philosophically and culturally to continue to grow and build our offense into the most physical and explosive in the country,” Wooster said, according to GV Athletics.
There is also confidence in the locker room about the new play caller from sophomore receiver Kellen Reed.
Reed won GLIAC Special Teams Player of the Week twice last year, and led the nation in kickoff returns for touchdowns.
“Our offense will have a completely new look,” said Reed. “I feel (it) fits our athletes abilities very well.”
Lakers will get a chance to see this brand new offense at the start of the season come September. However, before the regular season starts, there’s much work to do in the off-season, according to Reed. The off-season is especially important for a team like GVSU, as every season comes with championship aspirations.
“In the off-season we go hard,” said Reed, “It’s tough, but it builds our mental strength, as it does our physical.”
Reed highlighted one of the major keys to success in a sport like football, trust, and emphasized how important it is within their team.
“I feel like we have had a great balance of prevention and knowing how hard to push us from our coaches,” said Reed. “That (balance) makes it so easy to trust what they are telling us to do.”
There are many aspects that go into winning a single football game. GVSU aims to perfect these aspects during training.
“Fine tuning the small things may seem like nitpicking, but in games we’ve learned that it comes down to very small decisions that can leave you with a win or a loss,” Reed said.
While football is a very physical sport, some people may ignore the mental side of the game. Reed elaborated on the importance of the mental game in football.
“Reach higher,” Reed said. “When you think you are using your full mental and physical ability, keep pushing that mental limit we have in our brains.”
With the season approaching rapidly, the team’s mindset is clear to the sophomore wideout.
“(We need to) be the best players we can be every time we touch the field,” Reed said.
GVSU’s football team opens up the 2024 season with a home game at Lubbers Stadium against the Central State Marauders on Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
