It might not be accurate to call Summit Academy a football “program.”
For a school to have a program, it would have the capability of cultivating players from youth and midget teams, implement its offense and defense at the lower levels so, as players get older and join the varsity, they are thoroughly versed in their roles.
None of that holds true for the Knights.
“I’m not looking for a championship, but I am looking for our kids to be competitive,” said Summit Academy coach Steve Sherer. “Last year, we were competitive in almost every game and I was so proud of the kids. This year, we’re looking to do the same things, to see what the other team does and see how we match up with them, and see where we can make plays that will work.”
If continuity means anything, Sherer has the toughest job in the WPIAL. Summit Academy is a school for court-adjudicated youth. Many of the students are only there for a year – though some have the option of staying longer if they choose – which makes developing much-needed continuity on a football field a chronic problem.
It also means that, year after year, the coaching staff is blindly starting from scratch, with a new team and no of the caliber of athletes that will be sent to the school, let alone their skill level.
“We might still have some players who aren’t here yet, but we welcome kids who come and our kids are wannabes that want to be part of something,” said Sherer. “We think our athletic programs provide them with the opportunity to be a part of a positive thing. We take a lot of pride in that whatever sport we play, it’s not always about winning, but how you play the game and how you compete.”
Taking troubled teens and molding them into a team on the fly is a monumental task, but Summit Academy has done yeoman’s work in just putting a product on the field. It’s also what makes the fact that the Knights qualified for the WPIAL Class 1A playoffs last year even more amazing.
“A lot of these kids, they’ve just never played before and we have to get them up to game speed and they have to understand, if they get a lead, they can’t leave the door open and let the other team score,” Sherer said. “Our offense has to play as well as our defense and they have to come together and internalize the things that are important.”
Getting a lead will be much more difficult this season.
Summit Academy is the only team in the Allegheny Conference to move up from Class 1A as part of the biennial PIAA realignment. Not only will the Knights be challenged by getting up to speed in a hurry, they will have to face three teams (Shady Side Academy, Apollo-Ridge and Valley) that were in Class 3A last year. The conference also has Steel Valley, which has been to the WPIAL final each of the past two years.
And Summit Academy does not have a returning starter on either side of the ball.
Then again, though winning and making the playoffs is a nice reward, it’s not the reason why the students are at Summit Academy. It’s also a lesson that the coaching staff makes sure they understand.
“It’s gratifying in a lot of ways to see kids make changes and we’re hoping that they’re lifelong changes and not just for this season,” Sherer said. “I think athletics can teach kids that they can be successful in whatever they attempt and football develops character traits. They learn they have to do the right things in and out of the program.”
First Published: August 9, 2018, 12:00 p.m.