It’s a new era in Northwestern football, and they have a new coach and staff in place trying to turn things around for the Warriors as the summer workout program is underway.

Shane Carter, a former standout athlete at Troy High School, takes over the helm of the Warriors, and if June is any indication, he and the rest of the coaching staff are ready to turn things around immediately.

“We want to do it the right way, and it will take time,” Carter said. It’s about the right practice techniques and discipline and getting everyone on the same page. We want to do it from the youth leagues all the way through varsity.”

Carter takes over a team that has only won 30 games in the last 10 years. Carter looks at this as a challenge, and expects to turn the success around with Northwestern.

“Yes it will be a challenge,” said Carter, who played his college football at Wisconsin under Barry Alzarez. “I was comfortable at Troy, but I thought it would be a good challenge to get this group on the right track.”

“I feel like I bring a good work ethic to maximize our potential. I plan to take a little bit from everyone I have been around and use it as a part of the plan.”

Carter is no stranger to success. His father Clarence grew up in Springfield, and according to Shane ‘was a guy to teach us the importance of sports’.

“He was blessed athletically,” Carter said. Also Shane’s brothers Butch and Cris have enjoyed a lot of success, as Butch played several years in the NBA and Cris was an all-pro receiver in the NFL.

“It allowed me to be around the game at an early age, not only pro people but it was so important for us. I want to use it as a tool and a bridge.”

Summer workouts are now in their fourth week for the Warriors, and Carter feels it will pay off for a successful season.

“The kids are buying in and pushing themselves to be great,” he said. “We have good senior leadership as well.”

As the team heads into July, Carter is preparing them for the two-a-days with some camp and 7-on-7 days. Northwestern will be at Tipp and Springfield Catholic Central for 7-on-7s in July, while youth camp will be July 18 and 20 from 5-8 p.m., where Carter plans to teach the system to the younger kids.

“We need to get some consistency from the kids and teach them how to compete a higher level,” Carter said. “We will see competition every day at every position. If they do that we can do good things this year.”

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