'Trust' and 'character' huge part of North Paulding success this season
On Tuesday, the North Paulding Wolfpack returned to action after having over a week off for spring break as they were on the road at the Wheeler Wildcats in a region matchup. And while there may have been some rust for the Wolfpack after the long break, having not played since their 11-5 win over Alpharetta near the end of March, Coach Jason Reardon's team showed no signs of taking any steps back as they were in control of the matchup by the end of the first quarter with an 8-0 lead.
"What we were trying to do is basically get everybody some playing time, keep the ball moving and hopefully execute a little bit," the North Paulding head coach said following Tuesday's win, as he praised the Wildcats for playing "with class" however noting that with the team returning to the practice field for the first time coming off spring break, they were not able to "get as much time" as they would have preferred to prepare for the game, but they were able to work on things including "getting all of our faceoff personnel in there, try to get some different combinations on offense and defense, get everybody an opportunity," Reardon said.
And as Tuesday's game would conclude with North Paulding notching their 15th win of the season, improving to 15-0 overall and 4-0 in region play, it also marks the third consecutive season in which they have posted 15 wins or more and Reardon credits the "character" of the team for the Wolfpack being in the midst of another great season. "I've got great coaches and we've got great young men over here. They work really hard in the off-season, they care about each other and there's a connectedness, a togetherness," Reardon said adding that good chemistry has been vital. "They care about each other and their success more than their own, they're willing to make the extra pass, they trust each other because they all work very hard in the off-season together and that part has been really pretty cool. We try to build culture and that's been the focus," Reardon said.
And while Tuesday's game allowed North Paulding to knock the rust off and get back into the groove of things, more importantly, the matchup gave them an opportunity to start preparations for their next game in which they will take on the Walton Raiders, who also remains unbeaten in the region standings. And while the Wolfpack will have two games remaining after Thursday's showdown with the Raiders, a win would put them in the driver's seat to close out the season with their third consecutive region title. And for Reardon, accountability and "trust" are going to be key factors if they hope to finish the regular season strong and make a long post-season run.
"Trust us as coaches to put them in the right position to make to make plays and we have to trust each other in the depth that knowing you can go out there and play fast because the person to your left or to your right is doing their job. That's a big part, it's all about the trust," Reardon said, adding that the Wolfpack takes "the game one at a time,".
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