Find out what some of the top players in the state are saying about sports now!
Q&A with North Scott defensive end AJ Petersen
What have you been doing as of late with off-season workouts?
“Right now as a current workout schedule: I try to lift 3-4 times a week and participate in camps to improve on the basics. I have also been going to wrestling open mats so that I can improve on wrestling techniques and football. Wrestling helps with balance, leverage, and response time in football.”
What do you feel you have improved on most since last football season?
“I think that I have improved on my hand placement, and I am always trying to increase my speed and strength in all aspects.”
How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I think that the team and I will improve a lot from last year. We will use last year as a learning experience to grow. We have a good group of players joining the varsity family this fall, I'm excited to use experiences from last year to help improve the team.”
What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“I think that it would be another great game to have a rematch with Cedar Rapids Xavier.”
Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“Football is a team sport, we try to focus on the team as a whole and not as individuals.”
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Q&A with Murray quarterback Zack Belden
What do you feel you have improved on most since last football season?
“This off-season I have really been working on getting bigger, faster, and stronger. I’m really looking to bulk up and focus most of my attention on football for next season.”
What have you been doing as of late with off-season workouts?
“This past season we had a very run-heavy offense, so I feel that I have gotten better offensively in terms of making plays with my legs and getting out of the pocket. Defensively I have definitely improved from not playing defense at all, to starting. I’ve changed up roles defensively and played D-End, and I feel that I’ve made huge improvements on that side of the ball as well.”
How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“We are losing a lot in terms of starters, but so is everyone else. I think that if we just play our game and stay true to ourselves we will do just fine next year. We have a lot of young guys returning and more coming up as freshmen, so we will definitely have a lot to build around in the coming years.”
What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“As of the last few years I think that we’ve proven to not only ourselves but to everyone else that we can hang with anyone. Of course the playoff ball is a little different, but we will face that challenge when we get there.”
Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“Again there are a lot of great guys out there that we will play against, in my opinion I don’t think you should overestimate or underestimate anyone, plenty of guys can make that leap between years, so we have to be ready for whatever could possibly be thrown our way.”
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Q&A with Lewis Central safety Caleb Moore
What have you been doing as of late with off-season workouts?
“This off season I've mostly been trying to get my knee back to 100% so just doing a lot of physical therapy.”
What do you feel you have improved on most since last football season?
“I think I've most improved on my footwork.”
How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“Next season we are trying to win back-to-back state championships.”
What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“Harlan will be our most difficult regular season game but it’s fun because it’s a rivalry game and we both just won state.”
Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“Aidan Hall.”
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Q&A with Montezuma athlete Owen Cook
How did the spring and summer go for you with baseball?
“This last year of baseball went well. It was my best year so far and I was very happy with how our team did. Our expectations weren’t that high and I would say that we exceeded them in every way.”
What are your workout plans now going forward?
“This past offseason I’ve spent a lot of time working on strength and mobility to improve my mechanics. I lift a lot with our football coach and by myself. I also started a throwing program this past fall that has helped my delivery.”
How do you feel your team will do next baseball season?
“This next baseball season I think our team has potential. We lost some key starters from the past years but we have opportunities for growth throughout the season.”
What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“The toughest team we will face will be Sigourney. They have a lot of mechanically sound players and they have lots of talent. I think they could go a long way in the postseason this year.”
Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“The toughest individual we will face is Colten Clarahan from Keota. He’s a very well-developed pitcher for them. He plays for the same organization I do in the off-season and I have a lot of respect for Colten and his work ethic.”
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Q&A with Winfield Mt. Union running back Caleb Giese
What have you been doing as of late with off-season workouts?
“Lately we’ve been doing play installs and working on tackling. I have also been lifting and doing a thing we call Speed School where we do speed drills and time flying 10’s.”
What do you feel you have improved on most since last football season?
“I think my footwork and tackling have gotten better the most.”
How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“Next football season I see our team competing with anyone we play against and can see us making a run in the playoffs. We have lots of talent all around and people that can make big plays.”
What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“I think the toughest team that we are going to face has to be either Audubon or Waco.”
Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“The toughest individual I think that we’ll play against next year is Simeon Reichenbach from Waco.”
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Q&A with North Scott defensive end AJ Petersen
What have you been doing as of late with off-season workouts?
“Right now as a current workout schedule: I try to lift 3-4 times a week and participate in camps to improve on the basics. I have also been going to wrestling open mats so that I can improve on wrestling techniques and football. Wrestling helps with balance, leverage, and response time in football.”
What do you feel you have improved on most since last football season?
“I think that I have improved on my hand placement, and I am always trying to increase my speed and strength in all aspects.”
How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“I think that the team and I will improve a lot from last year. We will use last year as a learning experience to grow. We have a good group of players joining the varsity family this fall, I'm excited to use experiences from last year to help improve the team.”
What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“I think that it would be another great game to have a rematch with Cedar Rapids Xavier.”
Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“Football is a team sport, we try to focus on the team as a whole and not as individuals.”
..............................................
Q&A with Murray quarterback Zack Belden
What do you feel you have improved on most since last football season?
“This off-season I have really been working on getting bigger, faster, and stronger. I’m really looking to bulk up and focus most of my attention on football for next season.”
What have you been doing as of late with off-season workouts?
“This past season we had a very run-heavy offense, so I feel that I have gotten better offensively in terms of making plays with my legs and getting out of the pocket. Defensively I have definitely improved from not playing defense at all, to starting. I’ve changed up roles defensively and played D-End, and I feel that I’ve made huge improvements on that side of the ball as well.”
How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“We are losing a lot in terms of starters, but so is everyone else. I think that if we just play our game and stay true to ourselves we will do just fine next year. We have a lot of young guys returning and more coming up as freshmen, so we will definitely have a lot to build around in the coming years.”
What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“As of the last few years I think that we’ve proven to not only ourselves but to everyone else that we can hang with anyone. Of course the playoff ball is a little different, but we will face that challenge when we get there.”
Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“Again there are a lot of great guys out there that we will play against, in my opinion I don’t think you should overestimate or underestimate anyone, plenty of guys can make that leap between years, so we have to be ready for whatever could possibly be thrown our way.”
..............................................
Q&A with Lewis Central safety Caleb Moore
What have you been doing as of late with off-season workouts?
“This off season I've mostly been trying to get my knee back to 100% so just doing a lot of physical therapy.”
What do you feel you have improved on most since last football season?
“I think I've most improved on my footwork.”
How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“Next season we are trying to win back-to-back state championships.”
What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“Harlan will be our most difficult regular season game but it’s fun because it’s a rivalry game and we both just won state.”
Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“Aidan Hall.”
..............................................
Q&A with Montezuma athlete Owen Cook
How did the spring and summer go for you with baseball?
“This last year of baseball went well. It was my best year so far and I was very happy with how our team did. Our expectations weren’t that high and I would say that we exceeded them in every way.”
What are your workout plans now going forward?
“This past offseason I’ve spent a lot of time working on strength and mobility to improve my mechanics. I lift a lot with our football coach and by myself. I also started a throwing program this past fall that has helped my delivery.”
How do you feel your team will do next baseball season?
“This next baseball season I think our team has potential. We lost some key starters from the past years but we have opportunities for growth throughout the season.”
What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“The toughest team we will face will be Sigourney. They have a lot of mechanically sound players and they have lots of talent. I think they could go a long way in the postseason this year.”
Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“The toughest individual we will face is Colten Clarahan from Keota. He’s a very well-developed pitcher for them. He plays for the same organization I do in the off-season and I have a lot of respect for Colten and his work ethic.”
..............................................
Q&A with Winfield Mt. Union running back Caleb Giese
What have you been doing as of late with off-season workouts?
“Lately we’ve been doing play installs and working on tackling. I have also been lifting and doing a thing we call Speed School where we do speed drills and time flying 10’s.”
What do you feel you have improved on most since last football season?
“I think my footwork and tackling have gotten better the most.”
How do you feel your team will do next football season?
“Next football season I see our team competing with anyone we play against and can see us making a run in the playoffs. We have lots of talent all around and people that can make big plays.”
What team do you feel will be the toughest competition on your schedule?
“I think the toughest team that we are going to face has to be either Audubon or Waco.”
Who is the toughest individual player your team will face off against?
“The toughest individual I think that we’ll play against next year is Simeon Reichenbach from Waco.”
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