St. Johns Country Day School football is a unique experience. Spartan athletics is a true combination of academics and athletics.
The talent pool for players is much smaller than most schools. SJCD has only 100 males in the entire school. Coach Bill Sellinger, in his second year, said the roster numbers are in the 20’s for this season.
“We will be at around 22,” Sellinger said. “The first five years we had around 25-28 players.”
The SJCD roster is fairly balanced with four seniors, four juniors and the majority underclassmen.
Offensive coordinator Rocky Bantag said he is hoping the future numbers increase.
“We get our 20% of the guys,” Bantag said. “We wish more kids would come out. If they aren’t in a sport, we’re going to ask them to come out.”
Lineman Tyler Kuramoto said he has had an awesome experience playing football in his second year with the team.
“There’s a lot of excitement in school and people want to play,” Kuramoto said.
Sellinger said the program is growing. One huge asset for SJCD that few schools possess is having its feeder system and middle school program located at the school. Both the varsity and junior varsity practice together on a daily basis.
Eli Morton said he has been in the program since the sixth grade.
“It’s an advantage for being on the team in middle school,” Morton said. “They let us practice so we get to know the coaches.”
Senior Cade Weldon said he loved getting involved with the program early.
“I’ve been playing since sixth grade,” Weldon said. “It’s good to see middle school kids in the varsity program so when they get up here they’re already ready to go at it.”
Despite a smaller offensive line, the Spartan coaching staff are trying to implement more of a running game this season.
“We are stressing a different way to run the ball,” Sellinger said. “We’re smaller compared to most teams. We have to find a more creative way to run which means more bubble runs. It’s hard for us to run between tackles. We have great throwing game.”
Another improvement for the team is the addition of a new strength and conditioning coach to help all sports including football.
“He’ll be with us Monday through Thursday 2:30-4:30 pm,” Sellinger said. “He’ll be really huge for us next year. He’s with each skill set and gives them their own workouts.”
The school has helped the overall athletic program by adding baseball field lights, paving parking lots and buying and purchasing some new uniforms.
Sellinger said the staff has joined Hudl, a video review and performance analysis tool, which should lead to more film watching for the team and aid in recruiting.
Academics are the priority at SCJD. The football practice schedule is created as to further enhance study time.
“School’s so difficult here,” Sellinger said. “When they’re here (for football practice) we want them from 3:30-5:45 p.m. We copy what Oregon does. No one is standing around. We can get it done in two- and- a- half hours then they go home and study. Our team GPA is at least a 3.9.”
Morton said SJCD has a good balance of academics and sports.
“It helps to come out after a long day in school to have fun on the practice field,” Morton said.
College scholarships are viewed in a differently at SJCD.
“I’m 100% for it,” Sellinger said. “We’ve put three in college football with scholarships, but if a player can get in a larger school for academics than a smaller school for football, then our students usually will go for academics.”
Sellinger said the coaching staff and administration are scheduling smarter in terms of competition and travel. When the previous football coach Todd Zehner, who is now the school’s headmaster, came aboard the Spartans were playing teams in much higher classifications and had to travel long distances. Zehner changed those dynamics to help the team. The Spartans compete in the North Florida Conference in Class 1A.
One of the strengths of the Spartan football team lies in its continuity of the staff that have coached together in Pee Wee football, junior high and now in high school level.
Bantag said he has had a lot of fun as a part of the SJCD staff.
“It’s a blast,” Bantag said. “This is my last coaching gig. If I get fired, then I will come watch them anyway. We understand academics is priority. We have a school first mentality. He (Sellinger) is the right person for the job.”
Freshman quarterback Max Monroe is one reason Sellinger is looking forward to the future.
“He was a middle school player too,” Sellinger said. “He was our backup in seventh grade. He grew in his eight grade year. We had him on varsity last year. He is 6 feet, 180 (pounds) now. He’s projected to be 6-4 and 200 soon.”
Monroe said he is excited to be working with a very young team. He said he has gained valuable experience over the past few months.
“Last year I started half the season on varsity,” Monroe said. “It’s the same offense since my sixth grade year. The only change is bigger people and a lot more film work.”
Monroe wants to play football on the college level.
“We pass the ball 50 or 60 times a game which helps me toward my goal to go to college,” Monroe said. “It’s been my dream since I was a kid is play in college.”
Monroe also works with a quarterback coach during the offseason. He also said he likes the new addition of a strength coach to help the football team and other sports.
Bantag said he has been impressed with Monroe.
“He wants to play Division I college football,” Bantag said. “He’s growing from play- to -play. He’ll eventually become a division I quarterback. He’s tough for being a ninth grader. He’s willing to stand in there and take hits.”
Like several players on the team, Monroe plays multiple sports. SJCD athletes are encouraged to play on different teams.
“I play football, soccer, tennis and baseball,” Monroe said. “Tennis and baseball helps my arm strength and soccer helps me in conditioning.”
Troy Myers said he also benefits from playing more than just football.
“It helps my strength and conditioning,” Myers said. “I jump into baseball right after football.”
Patrick Lindholm echoed the comments of his teammates.
“I mainly play soccer and came out here to kick,” Lindholm said. “My nickname is ‘the kicker’, but I don’t even kick. I also play on special teams.”
SJCD has its share of challenges. It also has a promising future. This is one school to follow over the next few years in terms of its model for academics and sports.
Promising Future Ahead
for St. Johns Football
Written by: Brent Beaird
