CRIDERSVILLE–Luke Taviano was right where he wanted to be on the first day of high school football practice Monday and that was being the head coach of the Perry Commodores.
It is his first heading coaching stint and Taviano, who graduated from Perry in 1997, is excited to be donning the red and white once again. Taviano spent time as an assistant coach at Perry in 2015 before heading to Delphos Jefferson as an assistant coach on the highly successfully Wildcat program under head coach Chris Sommers last year.
“I planned on staying there (Delphos) before Coach Lane passed away and I was given this opportunity to take my home program over which has always been a dream of mine,” Taviano said. “If any job could come open whether it was this one or the Dallas Cowboys…I would much rather be here at home and changing the course of the program.
Taviano takes over for Herb Lane who was killed in an automobile accident in March. He said he admired and respected Lane but he comes in with a different style.
Taviano brings with him a hard-nosed, old school approach and said the majority of players have been receptive but also said there were some who did not.
“Initially they were a little iffy on it just because what I am bringing to the table,” Taviano said. “We are changing the offense…but they really have bought in. They see what we are trying to do to the program. We are not doing it because it is what I like to do but it is the right thing to do. It is going to be program altering”
Taviano, who has become more familiar with the players in camps and 7-on-7 competitions, said it has been a great summer so far, and the players have worked hard in the weight room and in the numerous camps the players attended the last two months.
“They have done a great job of buying into the program and what we want to do and they change the culture here. We have a great group of kids who are thirsty to make this a great football program.”
For the seniors on the team, it is their third coach in three years so they are once again having to make adjustments to another new system and different style of coaching but they like what Taviano has introducted thus far.
Senior Aaron Rush admitted that after Lane passed away the team was skeptical of how things were going to work out but said things have been going a lot better than they thought.
“We are going a lot harder in the weight room,” Rush said. “It is not like we used to go where we just got toned we are actually trying to build up our bodies. We are trying to build our character up and become men and play football the right way.”
Fellow senior teammate Luke Floyd echoed Rush’s sentiments.
“I think he is a good coach. A solid guy and a straight shooter,” Floyd said. “He is going to tell you like it is.”
In addition to the team adjusting to Taviano’s style, demeanor and on field changes, the new head coach understands these guys have endured a lot in the past year. Not only did they have to deal with the passing of Lane but they have a teammate, RJ Patton, who was seriously injured in an automobile accident earlier this year.
“They have a lot on their plate but they are here and working hard and they are selling out and buying into the program and doing tremendous things for us,” Taviano said. “They are a pretty resilient group. Obviously they lost somebody who impacted their lives not only in football and basketball but life. He (Lane) coached them in something along the way their whole life and for me to think that I am going to come in and fill that I am not naive in that respect.”
Taviano continued that he knew Lane his whole life and played football with his brother Craig Lane and so he understands the impact it has had on the students, the school and the community.
“I respected coach Lane fully but our philosophies on football were different but our vision for the program was identical,” Taviano added. “We just had different ways of getting there and we are going to get the program where he wanted to be. We are going to take different route but we are going to get it there and do it for the community and district and along the way for Coach Lane.”
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
