Josh Casares
As the summer ends, football season starts. For Shepherd Public Schools, this means a new head football coach. Josh Casares, a Public Resource Officer (PRO) for Shepherd in the Shepherd area, has been hired for the head coach position at Shepherd.
“This is something I have wanted to do for quite some time,” said Casares in an interview with Yellowstone County News. “Once the opportunity presented itself, I jumped on it.” Casares has been coaching for a while from Little Man Football to assistant coaching at Senior High School and Shepherd.
“We are definitely going to change what we do offensively and defensively,” Casares said. Shepherd has been known for running the ball and their power run game. With multiple great running backs and a solid offensive line, Shepherd could run the ball effectively, especially in recent years. “My plan offensively is to be a lot more balanced than we have been in the past. We have to be able to pass the ball, especially when we get into playoff time and facing other teams from across the state that we have not seen.”
With the new changes, spectators can expect to see a lot more athletes touch the ball, not just the running backs. “Our quarterbacks are going to be more involved with not just our run game but our pass game.” With a stronger passing game, Shepherd can not only be a treat on the ground, but also in the air. Along with this, Coach Casares is also implementing a more balanced defense as well. “We are going to fly around and make plays,” says Casares.
With a new coach comes a new motto. “We over me” is what Coach Casares has decided as the motto for the team, and for good reasons. “We have to make this a team aspect,” says Casares. “We are going to have guys that maybe don’t show up on gameday that we need others to step up. Some kids will have the best game of their life and then not show up the next. We need everyone to do their 1/11th.”
Another thing that will be new this year is a new tradition Casares wants to implement. Midnight Madness, an event where the team practices at midnight when the football season officially starts. Casares got the idea from coaching against Butte head coach Arie Grey. “When I got this job, that was something that I wanted to implement.”
“I’m very thankful for the opportunity and I’m excited,” Casares states. “We should be exciting to watch this year.”
Shepherd Football Team starts its regular season with a game against Glasgow on August 30 in Shepherd.
