The Manitowoc Lincoln Ships Football team is coming off an odd year, where they had to combat not only COVID-19 but also their schoolwork throughout the entire season.
We spoke with Head Coach Greg Enz yesterday morning as his team started their on-field training for the 2021 season, and he said there are high expectations for this season.
“We talked, the seniors and I, about where do you feel expectations are? Do you feel it’s an unfair expectation to say we should compete for a conference championship?” Enz said. “Not one of them disagreed with that idea.”
The Ships have struggled since Enz took over, but he said he feels as though the systems he has put in place are starting to click.
“We had a little hiccup at times a year ago, but we got things reigned in. I really felt like our last 3-4 weeks of the season we really saw growth in what we wanted to do,” he recalled. “Now we are trying to be creative with some visual things, formational things, to try to be more successful.”
Enz said that while he and the players, specifically last year’s seniors, were happy to have a season last year amid the pandemic, there were several challenges on the coaching side that he hadn’t encountered in his over 20-year career.
“The one thing you didn’t realize until you did it once again, how important [it is] not having school going on is, to be able to connect with the kids…and address the basic needs,” Enz said. “We are like a baseball coach or a basketball coach, where they are used to that concept. They don’t have the sport without the season.”
We also spoke in passing with Lincoln Athletic Director Dave Steavpack, who said that with COVID still lingering around, they are still taking some precautions, namely separating the water for the players.
The Ships are currently practicing in helmets, shorts, and t-shirts, with the shoulder pads coming out on Friday.
