Internal competition is just one of many areas of growth within Caruthersville FB

There have been plenty of signs, on the field, for second-year Caruthersville High School football coach Dom Guglielmio that his program is making strides. However, Guglielmio also sees growth in his young student-athletes simply when he walks through the Tiger locker room.

“There is a lot less of having to remind the kids of the expectations,” Guglielmio said. “OK, we have to do this and this. Now, the kids are warming up (before workouts) on their own. The kids are keeping the locker clean on their own. The kids are putting the weights away on their own.

“All of that means that they are buying into the growth mindset, the culture we have, and really putting forth the effort to be good on and off the field, which has been nice.”

The Tigers opened training camp on Monday, but Guglielmio’s kids have been putting in work all summer in preparation for this month.

“The kids have dedicated themselves in the weight room,” Guglielmio said of the Caruthersville off-season. “We played some good seven-on-sevens.”

The Tigers also took part in a joint practice last month with the Sikeston program, which Guglielmio said was “awesome.”

The Tiger program hasn’t been a rock of stability over the past 24 months, as the program has gone through three head coaches leading the Tigers, but Guglielmio has been in the Bootheel working with these kids for 18 months, and the program is maturing back into the level of expectations that the Caruthersville community expects from the program.

From 2010 through 2019, the Tigers strung together 10 consecutive winning seasons and advanced to the MSHSAA Class 2 State Semifinal in 2012.

“Our numbers have gone up a little bit,” Guglielmio said of his 2023 roster, “and our attitudes have gotten a lot better.”

Throughout this entire summer, only two Caruthersville players were late to a training session, so the expectation of accountability and discipline is beginning to show within the Tiger program.

“I think we have taken a huge step forward,” Guglielmio said.

Another sign of development within the Caruthersville program is the fact that there is competition for playing time throughout the roster, most notably, at quarterback.

A year ago, then-sophomore Ryan Guest, replaced injured senior starter Ty’Lan Golliday for the second half of the season, and he has spent the summer competing with sophomore Jared Hudgens for the starting position.

“They have been duking it out all summer,” Guglielmio said. “They both have strengths and they both have things that they are growing through and striving towards skill-wise.”

Guglielmio said there is an assortment of athletic candidates in his wide receiver room, as well, which like the quarterback position having multiple athletes capable of playing good football, will help the program evolve.

“Competition breeds success,” Guglielmio said. “We’re fortunate that we actually have a lot of competition going on. I think that the quarterback competition has been good for us.

“Every day, (either Guest or Hudgens) is fighting a little bit differently than the other guy, and it has made this decision really hard.”

The Tigers will open their regular season against Malden in Caruthersville on Aug. 25 at 7 p.m.