HAGERTY HUSKIES

2015: 8-3 record, 7A District 4 Champs

Last Playoff Appearance: Lost in 1st round to Bartram Trail in 2015

Head Coach: Phil Ziglar, 153-128 in 26 seasons.

Key Returners: DB/WR Matthew Lipari (3 INT, 55 TKL), G/DE/TE Josh Welden, G Ethan Johnson

The Scoop: The Hagerty Huskies are preparing for the upcoming season as reigning 2015 7A District 4 Champs, making the playoffs for only the second time in school history, before losing to Bartram Trail in the opening round.

Quotable: “They know that the idea for success is work. And I always tell the kids, make sure you bring your lunch pail, because that’s what it is. It’s a job.” – Coach Phil Ziglar

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The Hagerty Huskies are the perfect embodiment of head coach Phil Ziglar. Not the fastest or most glamorous, but tough and strong instead.

“He is the man. You can’t get a tougher bulldog than him,” said guard and defensive end Josh Welden. ‘He puts the attitude in here that everybody needs to just be the best.”

Being the best, by focusing on strength, with morning workouts starting in the weight room, a circuit written on the white board for the players to follow.

“You’ve got to win one way and that’s our way of doing it,” said guard Ethan Johnson. “So we specialize on getting strong in here, four times a week and come in and lift.”

“They know that the idea for success is work,” said Coach Ziglar. “And I always tell the kids, make sure you bring your lunch pail, because that’s what it is. It’s a job.”

And it’s a job Coach Ziglar takes seriously. 40 years of coaching football, 29 as a head coach and going into this 4th season at Hagerty with over 150 wins under his belt.

After so many years on the job, he knows what it takes to put together a winning team.

“I call August 1st interview time. They come for a job to interview, and hey if they have not worked to prepare themselves for August 1st, don’t think I am going to give you something.”

Last season the Huskies won the district with a 5-1 district record, but couldn’t make it past the first round of the playoffs. But instead of focusing on a repeat as district champs, the Huskies are all about the here and now.

”We want to repeat of course but right now we are just focusing on winning that first game.”

 

2016 Schedule

8/19: Freedom

9/2: Winter Springs

9/9: Oviedo

9/16: Lake Minneola

9/23: @West Port

9/30: Ocoee

10/7: @East Ridge

10/13: @Colonial

10/21: @Lake Howell

10/28: Edgewater

11/4: @Timber Creek