BRANDON, VT – Otter Valley made the Division III playoffs as the 7 seed in 2022, but were bounced in the first round. But the Otters’ head coach now has a season under his belt and is prepared to lead a more passionate team into the new season.

“Last year was my first year here. Just trying to instill a little of this new culture that we wanna bring for the program,” said Otter Valley head coach Jordan Tolar. “Being coachable, understanding that there’s room for improvement. They’re coming into work every single day and giving it their best.”

“This is a game of preparation,” he continued. “You have to be excited what you’re doing. It’s all about the process, not the prize. We try to make sure that we’re excited and bring that energy every single day here.”

“The intensity’s always been a huge part of Otter Valley, right?” said center and defensive lineman Luciano Falco. “It’s go big or go home here. Last year we realized that it took us way to long to start getting serious about the game, took us way to long to start becoming a family and together all at once.”

“We had a lot of getting down on each other as teammates and we have to be better to each other and we’ll come together as a team and I think we’ll do good,” said right guard and free safety Gavin Disorda.

“What’s your job entail?” said head coach Tolar, addressing his team. “Go out there and do it to the best of your ability, you can’t look left and right and expect anybody else to help you out other than your brothers that are right here. The ones that go to work with each other, every single day. We have to lean on one another and we have too trust.”

“It’s Otter Valley versus ourselves,” said Tolar. “We have to make sure that we’re getting to be the best brand of us that we can be.”

Otter Valley kicks off its season on the road against Woodstock on Friday, September 1.