OVFL Preview: Cumberland Panthers Junior Varsity "concerned with the process"

The 2012 campaign will mark the beginning of Ntare Bainonmugisha’s tenure as team head coach. Bainonmugisha will look to lay the groundwork for his team of potential future stars.

In 2012 the Cumberland Panthers junior varsity team will be led by first year head coach Ntare Bainonmugisha.

Bainonmugisha, a former offensive and defensive coordinator of the Myers Riders junior varsity program will enter the upcoming campaign with a focus on player development.

“What our staff is really emphasizing and getting our players to buy into is that we are more concerned with the process more so than results,” notes Bainonmugisha. “If you play on the offensive line and get a pancake, but don’t step with the correct foot, then that’s not a good play. If you are a QB and throw a TD pass but do so after making the wrong coverage read, that’s not good either.”

In order to ensure that his squad is on the same page, Bainonmugisha knows that he must educate his players on the right way to play the game and create a supportive environment ideal for player development.

“Our main focus during camp has been to increase the football IQ of our players, and to cultivate a sense of family amongst this group,” explains the coach.

While Bainonmugisha hopes that the development of his players will lead to victories, he is unwilling to use wins and losses as a marker of success.

“As a staff we won’t evaluate our games based on the final score, we will judge our performance on the effort and execution that we see in all three phases of the game when we watch the game film.”

When questioned on team expectations for the 2012 campaign, Bainonmugisha declined to provide any sort of wins-losses projection, instead stating that “I do expect that by the end of the season our players will be better football players and better prepared for football at the next level.”

If it sounds as though team success is somewhat of an afterthought of a team philosophy focused on development, keep in mind that winning and team growth are rarely mutually exclusive.

As coach Bainonmugisha points out, “In my experience in this league those who are playing on the final weekend of the season are the teams who constantly focused on correcting the little details, as these little things are what add up to wins.”