By MARK MOLINA
Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — While some teams are dealing with getting their players in game shape and selecting a final varsity roster, the Marine Military Academy Leathernecks are basically starting from scratch.
However, it’s nothing new for the Leathernecks, who are a private school and are now used to playing as an independent team.
As of Tuesday, they have about 30 players total, 20 of which are getting on the field for the first time and were fresh off of the school’s activity sign up day.
Eight of those players are returning from last year and are expected to help lead the team through the ups and downs of a fresh year.
“The first thing the guys who come back hear out of my mouth is that they have to be leaders and set the example and the rest will follow,” said Leatherneck head football coach David Robledo. “That’s the way it works here, Harlingen High, Harlingen South and everywhere else.”
“It’s hard every year because you always lose so many guys, so it’s difficult to build a solid team every year because you don’t know who’s coming back,” added MMA sophomore free safety Chase Thompson.
Despite not seeing very much of what the final product will look like, what Robledo has seen is potential through position battles.
“We’re seeing some good things from the new guys. We have seen a pair of good running backs, two receivers, a kicker, some lineman; that’s part of the team,” Robledo said. “You need all those components to click on all cylinders to be successful.
“It’s good to have the same skill levels at a few positions, that way you can get the most out of every player.”
Even with the low numbers, Robledo led the Leathernecks to a 4-5 record last year and played some close games.
Now, the Leathernecks hope they can look at the silver lining and use last season as a stepping stone.
“It really helps us set a standard this year because we could’ve done better,” Thompson said. “This year I want to give my all and do my best to help our team. We have a lot of young guys who can come in and help us win games.”
In the end, it’s about the new players adjusting to the system.
“The new guys are brand new and they have to adjust to the military site because it’s not like a public school,” Robledo said. “It just depends on how they adjust. When they get here we’ll try to coach them up as much as possible. We need to be flexible with our system and we learn how to do that as coaches.”