Hart football ‘energized’ by change as fall practices begin
Daily News-area teams Monday held their first day of practice for a 2024 football season that will introduce some league realignments and a new field at El Camino Real.
The Hart football team, along with many other teams from the Daily News area, were allowed to hold their first day of fall camp on Monday morning.
The Hart players wore their helmets, but lineman Wade Cobb IV was so excited he nearly brought his full bag of gear.
“Once that game comes along on the 23rd of August, you got to be ready,” the junior said. “You don’t know how they’re gonna play. They could be working out right now.”
@haleymsawyer Hart football is looking different this season with a new head coach, new playbook and new mascot. #journalist #reporter #santaclarita #newhall #scv #football #highschoolfootball #hart #footballcamp #footballseason
Hart’s Fiscus Field exuded fresh energy Monday after an offseason of many changes. Cobb and other players, including quarterback Jacob Paisano, will have starting positions for the first time. Head coach Jake Goossen-Brown will be in his first year as head coach.
“This has been one of the easiest places I’ve transitioned into and I couldn’t have been more happy,” Goossen-Brown said. “I’m more energized than I’ve ever been.”
With a new coach has come an entirely new playbook with offensive and defensive makeovers. The offense has come together after countless meetings, many of which occurred between Goossen-Brown and players who were willing to convene during the lunch period.
The defense is still finding its identity — a situation not unusual in the throes of fall camp. Still, there’s confidence and optimism. That’s especially true for the offense, which will feature more running than in the past.
“We’re going to be really explosive, and I think we’re very unpredictable,” Paisano, a dual-threat quarterback, said. “We can show a lot of different (looks). We can show the same thing in a lot of different looks.”
Hart is also undergoing a mascot change and will be known as the Hawks after previously being the Indians.
Hart football will be in its first season as the Hawks after previously being the Indians.
The "H" branding will still be used with feathers, I'm told, but there seems to be a lot of the plain, bold "H" as well as the "Hart" scripted lettering. pic.twitter.com/UYnSD8rIAm
— Haley Sawyer (@haleymsawyer) July 29, 2024
The bold “H” logo and traditional “Hart” scripted lettering remains, and feathers will still be part of the branding due to their association with the Hawk mascot.
Change isn’t limited to Hart, though. Here’s a look at what’s new ahead of the 2024 season:
League realignment
The Conejo Coast League and Channel League will be debuting this fall as part of a league realignment designed to ensure competitiveness.
The Conejo Coast League will feature Newbury Park, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks and Westlake as well as Rio Mesa and Santa Barbara — both of which are outside of the Daily News coverage area. The Channel League will have Moorpark, Oak Park and Royal in addition to non-Daily News area schools Buena, Oxnard and Ventura.
Alemany has moved out of the Mission League and into the Angelus League alongside Paraclete and St. Francis, which leaves Sierra Canyon, Chaminade and Notre Dame as the only Daily News area teams in the Mission League.
Simi Valley and Oaks Christian will compete in the Marmonte League. St. Genevieve is in the Camino Real League, Village Christian and Heritage Christian are in the Ironwood League, Grace is in the Citrus Coast League and Viewpoint is in the Gold Coast League.
The Foothill League and the Pacific League remain unchanged.
New turf field for El Camino Real
The El Camino Real football team will finally have a home field to play on this fall after two seasons of waiting.
The Royals’ playing surface was deemed unplayable in late summer 2022 after the synthetic turf failed an impact test. Los Angeles Unified School District, which is responsible for athletic facility maintenance at El Camino Real, approved the project on Aug. 30, 2022.
YESSSSSS!!!! pic.twitter.com/ZTCmS4yDM4
— ECR Athletics 1 (@ecr_athletics) June 26, 2024
A video of football players sprinting down the field of fresh new turf was posted to El Camino Athletics’ X account on June 26 with the caption “YESSSSSS!!!!” A new scoreboard was also installed.
The Royals begin their season at Kennedy on Aug. 23 before hosting Heritage Christian on the new field on Aug. 30.