RE Log Spring 2019

30 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2019 RE Sports Roger Caron is an indepen- dent-school throwback, a faculty member who does it all: he teaches, coaches and serves a critical role in the school’s college counsel- ing office directing RE’s student-athletes. Yet there is nothing dated about his approach to his various jobs. In his two years at Ransom Everglades, he has brought welcome innovation to RE’s football program, classrooms and its col- lege counseling office. Caron, who also teaches in RE’s History and Social Sciences Department, stressed sweeping safety-first schemes in his first season as head varsity football coach in 2018-19, aiming not only to protect players from injury, but also to enhance the team’s overall performance. Caron developed his philosophy during two decades as head coach at Pomona- Pitzer Colleges in Claremont, Calif., where he cracked down on excessive con- tact even before recent anti-concussion initiatives. At RE, Caron took contact and pads out of spring practice and converted two days of weekly on-field workouts to weight-training sessions, then extended that approach into the regular season. The varsity football team started slowly, but ended its season with two dominant victories, including an 51-6 defeat of Somerset Canyons to claim fourth place in the Florida Independent Football Conference Championship. Six RE football players merited second- or third- team All-Dade honors (see chart on page 31), a year after none had earned such recognition. The biggest difference between the Raiders and their end-of-season op- ponents, Caron contends, was health: the Raiders were in better shape and had fewer injuries. “We put in place every possible safety measure,” he said. “We hit as little as pos- sible in practice during the course of the year … In the last two games, we showed A Cutting-Edge Throwback Roger Caron brings a fresh mindset to Ransom Everglades up with just about everybody ready to play, and our opponents had armies of injured players. “By the end of the year, we were play- ing as well as anyone in our conference.” Two of Caron’s top players, linebacker Lucas Ferrer ’19 and wide receiver Phil Covil ’19 , plan on continuing their football careers in college, which meant they did more than take instructions on the playing field. They and many other student-athletes at Ransom Everglades visited Caron’s second-floor office in the historic Pagoda, looking for his guidance in the college counseling realm. Caron actually helped create the novel post he holds at RE. As a one-time recruited athlete, Caron understood the dramatic changes the athletic recruitment process has seen in recent years. Caron played football at Harvard University and for the National Football League’s Indianapolis Colts. He found as a coach at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and Williams College that athletic excellence could help students earn admission to elite or academic-oriented schools – but students must be prepared and proactive. Caron views his job as a simple one: To help expose student-athletes to the full range of opportunities available to them. Ferrer and Covil plan to attend Tufts University in Boston in the fall. Covil said Caron’s assistance proved critical. “He provided me with structure and showed me how to get the attention of schools,” Covil said. “He helped me find a school that was great academically and also had a great football program. Even though it’s important, he doesn’t want you to take it too seriously. Having him around reassures you. He motivates you. You know he’s looking out for your best interest.”