NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- A win can mean different things to different individuals. The perseverance Granby football has shown by continuing to show up may be considered a win in itself.
"If you coach long enough, you'll be on every side of the wheel," Comets head coach Larry Archie said. "You'll be on the winning side, the middle of the pack side and the bottom of the barrel."
One might say Archie and Granby reside in the latter at the moment as plenty of challenges have hit their program.
"Inexperience, size in some positions, depth is always a problem when you don't have a lot of numbers," the head coach pointed out.
"Our offense not being able to score," added junior quarterback Christian Post of other struggles. "We're working at it."
Participation numbers have been low for the Comets. They've lost 18 straight games dating back to the 2019 season and recently were forced to forfeit a contest on account of low numbers and player safety.
"The biggest thing we worry about now is commitment," Archie said. "It's not easy to keep coming when you're not the biggest or strongest or the fastest."
Granby is not letting these obstacles and struggles define it. The Comets that do take the field each and every day for practice show no quit and a commitment level to each other. They're continuing to work towards step-by-step improvement.
"I love this game," Post said. "I've been playing since middle school. These are my boys out here. I don't want to quit on them."
"We have some guys here that really love the game," added Archie. "We just have to work and concentrate on the things that it takes to be successful in the offseason. They can't be only August to November football players."
It's a game where, at times, teams and players are on top of the world. Other moments find them on the bottom of the pile, but the Comets are putting in the work in hopes of emerging from the difficult experiences and seeing their work turn into wins. Archie says that, in that way, football is a lot like life.
"Some days it's going to be easy and other days it's going to be really hard and sometimes your best effort isn't good enough," the head coach said. "We always talk about a blue collar program. We're going to do it a little bit at a time, one day at a time and we're going to do it the right way."
Despite the recent struggles, the Comets will burst into the win column, sooner or later. When that happens, they'll get the chance to fully understand the effort they're putting into the game.
"It's going to feel great," Post smiled. "We'll probably celebrate, but then we've got to get back to work because we've still got another week."
"Unbelievable. It's going to be really nice. I'll be very happy for the kids," Archie said. "It'll be a good feeling for the kids that the hard work and the dedication has paid off."
Granby hopes to continue growing its football program to the point where it can develop a junior varsity squad in the near future.
If you have a nominee for Esprit Decor Student-Athlete of the Week, send an email to marc.davis@wtkr.com.
