Building a Legacy

WORCESTER – Quite often in sports, a team is a reflection of its coach.

After suffering a serious injury to his left leg during a weekend preseason camp, Worcester Technical High School head football coach Derek Robbins was back at practice hard at work. Although he was regulated to moving around on crutches and a wheelchair, he showed no signs of being hindered by his injury. He was determined to get his team ready for an upcoming tri-scrimmage against West Boylston and North High School.

While he sat in his wheelchair, one of his young linebackers ask Robbins how does he know if the opposing offense is going to run the ball of pass.

“Your first initial steps are back,” he instructed his young player who was completely attuned to his coach. Robbins then hopped out of his wheelchair to balance on his right leg and pointed to an imaginary offensive tackle. “You look at that tackle on your side, because if he goes down, if you see him block down and go passed the line of scrimmage, that’s a run,” instructed Robbins, who is in his third year as Worcester Tech’s head coach. “You want to know how you know pass?” The young man quickly shook his head, yes! “He’s going to stands up. He stands up in what we call high hat. That’s pass all day! Okay?”

Once his player replied, “okay!” with a nervous look, Coach Robbins continued his teaching moment with words of encouragement.

“I’m never going to yell at you if you miss read (the play), so long as you hustle and get back to it as quick as you can. Okay, now go get a splash of water!”

Coach Robbins dedication to his team despite his injury has left an impression on his players. A few of his seniors, like their coach, want to set that same standard to the underclassman of the team.

“We got to set the example,” said senior Jan Valls, who plays outside linebacker, running back, and wide receiver for the Eagles.

Senior defensive end and offensive guard, Marco Girardi, agreed. “Yeah, we got to set the example and set the tone.”

Senior Roberto Ortiz-Cruz, a starting guard, defensive tackle, and kicker, interjected, “on and off the field.”

To which Girardi replied, “on and off the field … of course, that starts at practice every day. Not only at practice, but in the classroom.”

Just like Coach Robbins looked to encourage his players to learn and improve, his seniors said it’s about leading and not punishing. “It’s not about discipline where we tell them what to do. They just see us …”

Valls cut in and said, “Yeah, they see us, and then they follow.”

“We perform and then they perform,” Girardi said. “It’s that kind of thing around here.”

“If they see us walk on the field,” said Valls. “They’re going to think they can walk. If they see us jog and hustle, they’re going to think we should probably be jogging and hustling right now.”

Both Robbins and his players hope to be more competitive this year following a difficult COVID shortened Fall II season in the spring.

“Our overall expectation is to return the program to a competitive level each week,” Robbins said. “Covid lock down decimated our roster. We played Fall II with 25 players in uniform.” This fall, he said the roster has doubled. “Since the end of Fall II, we have got our roster back up to 50 players. We have worked out three days a week since early May.”

Despite not being a very competitive team during Fall II with a 1-4 record, in which Robbins said “in many cases the games were not close,” there was cause for optimism towards the end of the spring campaign. “The kids showed toughness/grit and played very well for the last two games. That has carried over into the offseason and pre-season. We expect to battle and be in all our games this year.”

The seniors, who echoed their coach, hope to leave behind a positive legacy in 2021.

“I just want to build a football program that when I graduate, I know this program is going to stay here for a while,” Girardi said. “That the program is something I can be proud of for the next guy behind me.”

Valls said, “I want them to think that this is a good football program in the city. I want them to come to Worcester Tech and I want them to say …”

Girardi cut in again, “this ain’t a joke! This is a program! This is not just a team!”

“Yeah, this ain’t a joke!” Valls repeated. “We’re here to play football. We’re here to win!”

“We want respect,” said Ortiz-Cruz.

Robbins said, along with Ortiz-Cruz, Valls, and Girardi, the Eagles have several returning players to watch this season. They are juniors Charles Manu and Kennan Fleming. Manu is a standout running back and corner back, while Fleming will serve as the team’s starting quarterback and safety on defense. Seniors Curtis Morris and Bryan DeSouza look to turn some heads as well. Morris is a stalwart in the trenches on both sides of the ball at the starting offensive tackle and defensive end. DeSouza will make his presence felt in both the offensive and defensive backfields as a fullback and linebacker for the team.

Robbins was pleased with the initial results of the tri-scrimmage, especially against a tough and physical West Boylston squad. “Our scrimmage yesterday was awesome,” he said. “Our kids showed a lot of toughness. We had a few starters held out for some nagging injuries. The replacements played well. We have some depth and that’s saying a lot coming off Fall 2 when we dressed 25 total players.”

Robbins has a good feeling about his players as they travel to Burncoat High School for their first non-league game of the year on Friday, Sept. 10 at 6:30 p.m. Robbins and his staff, offensive coordinator Chris Simoneau, game day coordinator Mark Lavin, offensive/defensive line coach Brian Green, an assistant head coach Mike Lavin all have been working together to get the Eagles prepared to play ball.

“The kids have worked hard all off season through the summer months all with an eye on this season,” Robbins said. “We’ll be ready to go for the first game and all the games that follow. Our kids are determined to show the city. We are a very different team than the team we were during Fall II.

Most importantly for Robbins, “our kids are great kids and a joy to coach.”

Worcester Tech. Football

At a Glance

Nickname: Eagles

Affiliation: Colonial Athletic League

Colors: Royal Blue, Silver, and White

Record: 1-4

Home Field: Foley Stadium,

305 Chandler Street

Worcester, MA

Coach: Derek Robbins (3rd year)

Assistant: Chris Simoneau, Mark Lavin,