After years of struggles, Sandys addressing its biggest concern

Before he picked his coaching staff or designed the playbook, moved into his office or even spoke with his team, Sandy’s newly anointed head football coach, Greg Barton, wanted to establish senior leadership, an element missing from the program for years. He sat down and typed a lengthy, and hopefully culture-changing, message.

In it was a vision.

He wrote of upperclassmen becoming role models on the field, in the weight room and in the classroom. They would help mold the future of the program — the underclassmen — by becoming instructors. They would stand with the new regime and redefine the Pioneers’ program.

“That’s what a team is all about,” Barton says.

It was necessary to transform the team from a hatchback to a Mercedes — something everyone would eventually envy.

Then the longtime coach closed with this challenge to linemen Justin Bruner and Adam Shull, the strongest links in an otherwise weak offensive chain: Would they accept the task of being leaders?

“And to those guys’ credit — and this is why I’m so excited — both of those guys said yes,” Barton says, beaming.

It was the initial step to reconstructing an offensive line that, for years, has been overmatched in the trenches and a deteriorating organ in the program.

“We talk about line family,” offensive line coach Les Chamberlin says. “Line family is very important to us. There was a lot of screaming and yelling (last season). There was no confidence booster. There was no, ‘Hey, good job.’ There was nothing like that.”

But the river is reversing its course.

Physicality, motivation, aggression, communication, leadership, dominance and line family — traits synonymous with any high-quality offensive line — are now benchmarks of Sandy’s.

HOW THEY STOOD OUT

The seniors knighted to lead that change, Bruner and Shull, caught Barton’s attention last season with their work ethic in practice. This season, they’re not only putting forth that same effort, they’re taking control of the line, becoming a support system for fellow linemen.

“(Barton) said we need leaders for the team if we’re going to win,” Bruner says. “Guys had to step up. You have to help them out, too. I think we’re going to get it done this year. We’ve been training hard. We have more commitment, more guys who want to show up at practice and do what needs to be done to win.”

The hot story this offseason has been the success of the team’s new weight training program.

And at the center of it have been the two linemen, generating intensity and exemplifying hard work.

On the practice field, while players try to learn the language of a new offense, Bruner and Shull have been as much the signal callers as the quarterback. They’ve been an extension of the coaches.

“From the day they got here in the weight room to right now, they’ve been the hardest workers in our program,” Barton says. “Those two have been awesome.”

A LONG WAYS TO GO

Coaches may be raving about emerging leaders on the offensive line, but their tone turns to concern with talks of the unit as a whole.

“We have a long ways to go,” Chamberlin says. “We’re just coming off those four or five seasons that have just been gut wrenching. They’re not getting after it. Very undisciplined. And we’re changing it around to be disciplined, to be mentally and physically tough.”

Coaches admit it’ll take time to reconstruct what was a broken system, but with the season opener against Hood River Valley in two weeks, there is a sense of urgency.

With a new offensive system and new players, there is a need to accomplish something at every practice. This summer has been nothing but walk-throughs, allowing the linemen to learn the blocking schemes and terminology.

And players say they already have a better understanding of this offense than at any point last year.

“Especially in the past, people have been forgetting plays,” Bruner says. “But with this new offense, they really made it structured. Before, something would mean one thing one day and another thing another day. This way, it means this and don’t forget it.

“That’s made it a lot easier for me.”

But the real test will start next week, when daily-doubles begin and players are in pads for the first time.

“Once you put the shoulder pads and helmets on, it changes everything,” Chamberlin says. “Some people can have no pads on and be wonderful, and once they put pads on, they’re scared and frightened because now they’re hitting harder and getting after it.”

PLAYING TO STRENGTHS

The Oregon Ducks’ offensive line isn’t one of great stature. It’s undersized compared to the monsters in the Southeastern Conference.

So what does Oregon do? It builds a line that’s agile and designs an offense around athleticism.

The Pioneers aren’t going to pass many eye tests, especially when they face teams akin to Sherwood and Wilsonville. But Sandy’s new offense, designed by its new coaching staff, is tailored to the line’s strength — athleticism.

“There’s two types of linemen,” Barton says. “One would be the big, physical guy that beats up people. And we don’t have too many of those guys. And the other one you’d want would be athletic guys.

“By using a spread offense and doing zone read, our guys are perfect for that. On our offensive line, what we have is really good athletes. We’re going to try to rebuild a line based on athleticism.”

NEW TRAINING PROGRAM

Today, Sandy is undersized, but in a couple years, that might change.

Newly appointed offensive coordinator Gunnar Cederberg already has made his mark with a weight room plan that’s unique and effective.

Even coaches of other Sandy sports have been impressed with the quick results.

But the real results are still to come.

“The weight room is not going to change your body in one year,” Barton says. “It’s usually going to take two years to really see the major results.

“I can honestly say, what Gunnar is teaching in the weight room, if we would have had that over the last three years, the seniors this year would have been far more developed.

“I just think Gunnar has a program going that not many people do.”

If things go according to plan and Sandy’s offensive line beefs up, the offense could play a more physical style in a couple years.

FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT

Coaches are raving about the future of Sandy’s offensive line. And in some ways, the future has already arrived.

Chamberlin says right now three underclassmen will be starting on the line.

But coaches won’t say who those might be.

This will be the first group of freshmen to spend their entire Sandy careers under Cederberg’s weight program, and coaches say that’ll generate more physicality when they are upperclassmen.

“What we have to do is get kids from Sandy and get them in the weight room early in their careers,” Barton says. “This summer we had great success with the incoming ninth graders and incoming sophomores living in the weight room.

“You’re going to really see the benefits of that in a couple of years. It’s not like we want to wait for two years to play. I’m just saying we’re going to have some big linemen in a couple of years.”

Their potential is part of the reason Barton posed a challenge to the select seniors. He wants the young group to avoid the mistakes — namely, academic ineligibility — of some upperclassmen.

This year’s senior class lost its luster, with grades keeping some important players off the field, Barton said. So he is ensuring the situation isn’t repeated with this young class.

“We’ve lost some guys due to academics,” Barton says. “A lot of them were linemen, and there’s nothing we can do about it. You can have a great incoming freshman class, and two years later the class isn’t very good. Now we’re here, and we’re really emphasizing doing things right, and if the kids do it, that means we won’t lose them to academics.”

WHO'S MAKING NOISE?

Crafton Chamberlin, son of Les Chamberlin, is an incoming ninth grader who made plenty of noise even before stepping on a high school field.

He was one of 34 eighth graders selected to represent Oregon in the first-ever Football University 40-State NAtional Championship tournament.

His new coach even offered a glowing endorsement.

“He has the potential to be very, very, very special,” Barton says.

So is one of those three underclassmen starting spots on the line reserved for Crafton?

“I won’t get into names,” Les Chamberlin says.

It’s clear he’s as talented as any underclassman Sandy would otherwise start.

But Barton says the coaching staff is hesitant to pull the trigger because of his age.

“Physically he fits the bill already as a ninth grader,” Barton says. “I don’t know what exactly we’re going to do with him, yet. Gunnar, Les and myself will sit down and make that decision. But right now he’s worked himself into that mix.

“We’re going to be very careful with him. We’re going to see how he does when we put the gear on. There’s no question he can play. We just have to make sure he’s ready.”

MORE SENIORS EMERGING

The first time he saw him wasn’t on a football field, but a basketball court. Kevin TenEyck, a member of Sandy’s basketball team, impressed Barton with his athletic prowess, and the coach knew he could be an impact player.

“I really believe he’s a very good athlete,” Barton says. “He’d be a good athlete at Beaverton. He’d be a good athlete at Southridge.”

TenEyck, a senior, had been playing wide receiver. But Sandy was stacked at skill positions. What Barton really needed was offensive linemen, especially one like TenEyck who fit the athletic mold the Pioneers were building the line around. So he asked TenEyck to make the switch to a thankless position.

“If you put that in front of yourself,” Barton told TenEyck, “that would show tremendous leadership.”

Maybe it wasn’t his ideal choice, but the senior accepted the job. And his teammates took notice.

“He stepped up to the plate,” Bruner says. “We needed more linemen. So he may not be playing what he wants to play, but he’s doing what he needs to do to help the team.”

From the first day of workouts, he was the model teammate, leading his way — by example.

“Just going really hard in the weight room and doing everything right,” TenEyck says. “If guys see you doing the right thing, then they’re going to do that too.

“You just have to lead by example.”

Suddenly, an offensive line that lacked any leadership last season now had three: Bruner, Shull and TenEyck.

“I’d say 100 percent of the kids who have been here this summer have nothing but respect for those three guys,” Barton says. “To me, that’s something that’s very important to building a team. Your older kids have to set a tone with attitude, with discipline, structure and just being a class act. And younger kids will follow that lead.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

•Crafton Chamberlin

Even though he’s a freshman, coaches expect he’ll have a tremendous impact on the program. Physically, he already fits the bill, however coaches are hesitant to start Chamberlin because of his age.

•Kevin TenEyck

TenEyck, a 205-pound senior, was asked to make a position change and fill some holes on the line. Since his switch, he’s become a leader through his work ethic.

•Brent Lee

A 205-pound junior has quickly made a name for himself on the line. “In the last week, he’s taken his game from one level to another,” Barton says.

•Stewart Wilnet

As a 6-foot-6, 220-pound senior, Wilnet is a player with size and promise. He’s emerging as a player coaches hope can have an impact. “He’s still developing, but we think there’s real potential for him to develop.”