Coach Muehling “Excited” About the Football Team’s Future

Head Coach Mike Muehling is entering his third year in his position and believes the Hudson Valley Football team can drastically improve.
“We’ve made a lot of changes this year and we’re pretty excited about them, I think we can be pretty good,” said Muehling.
A change of the philosophy was made to restore a team friendly environment. “We’ve always emphasized character, integrity and core values and things like that and now we are putting a much larger emphasis on having a team-first environment,” said Muehling.
The Vikings are entering their first year as an independent program after withdrawing from the Northeast Football Conference in the spring.
Hudson Valley plays a similar schedule to prior seasons, except this season the Vikings play Ithica JV, Union JV and East Coast Prep instead of Navy Prep, Louisburg and Hartwick JV.
“I think we will have a good season and I feel good about the teams we play,” Muehling said.
Last season in 11 games, the Vikings had 46 turnovers and were shut out four times.
“We definitely can’t turn the ball over if we want to win football games and I think our guys understand that,” said Muehling.
Being positive is something Muehling thinks that he can improve on and will eventually lead to success.
“I’m not the most positive guy all the time and my new staff has helped me greatly with that,” Muehling said.
Muehling is working with five new members on his coaching staff.
“There is a good feeling in the staff room now. It’s easier for the team to get along when we as coaches are on the same page,” Muehling said.
New staff is followed by new faces on the field, which Muehling doesn’t think is a bad thing.
“We have a lot of guys that have been impressive in camp and we are excited about them,” said Muehling.
Dan McCann has made a name for himself on the line on both sides of the ball.
“He’s a leader in every sense of the word and you need a guy who can dominate up front and we’re excited about what he can do for us,” Muehling said.
The Vikings have seen team leaders move on to graduate, such as tight end Josh Gross (Rhode Island), 2012 MVP Gordie Pine, 2012 SUNY Chancellor Honor Scholar Athlete Landon Moore and 2012 rushing leader Nate Robinson.
The college encourages student athletes to move on and play at the next level, but while they are students at Hudson Valley, Muehling has a goal as a football team that he wants to accomplish.
“I want to win every game. I really do. But it comes down to how we play on Saturdays,” he said.
The Vikings open up their season on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. at home against Lackawanna.