Red Hawks aiming to ‘attack the process’ under new coach Oliver

The Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau football team has a simple three-word slogan that can be found on the back of their shirts: attack the process.

That’s the mindset first-year head coach Luke Oliver wants to instill into his young team, emphasizing a process-oriented approach rather than an outcome-focused one and stressing the importance of doing all the little things on a daily basis from practicing with a purpose to taking care of their bodies the right way away from the field.

“What does that mean? It’s what can I do right now at this practice to get better for tonight’s practice? What can I do with tonight’s practice to get ready for tomorrow’s practice? Just a day-by-day approach,” Oliver said of the slogan. “If you’re outcome-oriented so to speak, you’re gonna come up short nine times out of 10, and that’s a pretty empty feeling. For me, it’s always been process oriented.”

The G-E-T job marks the first head coaching gig for Oliver, a 2021 graduate of UW–Eau Claire who spent time as an assistant at a number of different schools, including Eau Claire Regis and Cypress Bay High School in Florida, the latter of which has an enrollment of nearly 5,000 students.

With a varsity roster featuring only four seniors, the Red Hawks do not have a ton of experience to lean on. However, Oliver lauded the group of players he’s inherited (turnout for the program was around 55 the first week of practice) as being a great group to work with as the new coaching staff seeks to put their imprint on the program.

Dan Herman is one of those few seniors and an important leader on the team, who Oliver credits for helping set the tone in the weight room during the offseason and being one of the most vocal guys at practice.

On offense, juniors Sawyer Foust and Wyatt Nichols are set to take over starting roles at quarterback and running back, respectively. Oliver emphasized that since he likes the speed they have on the team, finding ways to effectively get guys the ball in space is a top priority for the coaching staff.

Defensively, Oliver points to juniors Brode Eiken and Isaiah Carroll as potential impact players in the secondary and sophomore Alex Anderson as someone set to make a splash on the defensive line.

“Fast and physical, we want to control the tempo of the game on offense and then on defense, we want to out-hit you,” Oliver said. “We’re going to be fundamentally sound on defense. It’s alignment and assignment. If you’re aligned correctly and you know what you’re doing, you’re in good shape.”

Though there is a lot of youth on this year’s G-E-T team, Oliver chooses to view it as a positive and a “great opportunity” for the Red Hawks to learn and grow together as they seek to improve on a 2-7 record from last fall.

“Super, super excited for the season,” Oliver said. “Great group of kids, great administration, great faculty here at G-E-T, so they make my job a lot easier. I walk in every morning with a smile on my face because I’ve got the best support staff in the state of Wisconsin, I can tell you that much.”