Saxony Lutheran High School makes history
JACKSON, Mo. (KBSI) – Saxony Lutheran high school welcomes their first football team in school history, holding their first practice yesterday.
“I’m super excited to be able to coach these kids there super excited there sucking up everything like a sponge,” said Saxony Head Coach O.J. Turner.
Turner is a former Southeast Missouri State University linebacker. Now he has the chance to impact the lives of Saxony Lutheran High School students as their first football coach.
Turner says as the team grows, one of the battles they are facing revolves around “football IQ.” That means the level of knowledge the players have of decision making inside the game. Things like knowing the route trees, playbooks, movements, all the x’s and o’s a football player would learn in younger league play, Turner is teaching some of these players for their first time.
A Saxony Lutheran wide receiver, Seth Mueller says that playing on this team is “a good way to share faith and like I guess show people what we do with the school, and just another way to spread the faith of God.” Mueller is looking forward to the opportunity to show people what Saxony can do even in its first year as a team.
Turner says this program is a great way to help these kids dive into their faith and be reminded about what’s important in life saying,
“You know at the end of the day, its a faith-based school. So God is number one so I can aggressively, you know really talk about their relationship with God, so that’s really important.” Turner says, “at the same time too it’s about responsibility and being appreciative of your mom and dad allowing you to have the opportunity, where you don’t take that for granted so we’re supposed excited to be able to let those kids know every day that this is important.”
The team will play its first season fully as JV team, and play all of their games on the road.
The team will look to convert its Soccer field to play both soccer and football on the field next season.
Turner closed by saying he’s, “super excited to get this program going the kids are very happy we’ve had a great spring and a great summer and just having the first day of practice yesterday, and the second one today, kids are super excited to kind of get it going and kind of see what we learn.”
