By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports Report
WAVERLY — Longtime Waverly coach Jason Miller kept his team very busy over the summer, so when Day 1 of the 2026 preseason rolled around, it was just another Monday.
"It's just an extension of what we've been doing since May. and we expect to move along pretty quickly," he said.
"One of the things we have to slow down a bit for is getting the younger guys acclimated to the process ... being on time, being in the right spots during practice, and just the basics, like going through the stretch, and the agilities.
"And, if they haven't been around all summer, getting them to get from point A to point B — the ones that don't know what's going on will follow pretty quickly, and be encouraged to do so," Miller added.
Miller said the numbers are a little lower than what he's become accustom to.
"The numbers are a little down," he said. "We're right around 56, grades 9 through 12.
"It's a little down for us, but a lot of the kids have been around all summer, so there's not a lot of dead weight, so to speak.
"I feel pretty good about that number," noted Miller.
"The JV numbers will be a little light, but they'll all have an opportunity to get to play, so there's that," Miller added.
Miller is hoping to carry the momentum from the summer into the 2026 season.
"It was a great summer," he said. "(Strength & conditioning coach) Eric Ryck did a fantastic job in the weight room ... the conditioning started first week in May, and I think the kids that bought into the summer program will find the normal practices very easy.
"We had a busy summer with 7-on-7, and the line has been working together for a very long time, since January.
"I expect that this week of install ... five days in and a challenging scrimmage, is good," added Miller. "It gives us something to really work for this week and get to a point when we go down and try to play some football on Saturday."
Miller's coaching staff, which features longtime defensive coordinator David Shaw and a host of his former players, has a new face this season in former Norwich coach Mike Chrystie, who took a job as a history teacher this summer.
"Mike Chrystie joins us," said Miller. "He'll just kind of tag along with me. He's not really coaching a position or anything ... he's gonna learn the ropes.
"It's good to have another head coach on the team," noted Miller. "He'll take stock of our staff, and what they contribute.
"And it's just another set of eyes on film, another set of eyes in practice, another set of eyes in a game," added Miller. "He's been a head coach for 17 years, so he's going to be valuable."
With Chrystie comes his sons — Cooper and Cartyr, who started at quarterback and wide receiver last year at Norwich.
"Cooper, the quarterback, has a lot to learn," said Miller. "It's just a different system ... I think some of the same growing pains Ben (Shaw) went through two years ago, I expected Cooper to go through. But the good thing about it is, at least a third of the time, Ben's standing right next to him in the backfield, and that'll be a great asset to have, because for all intense and purposes, we have two quarterbacks on the field.
"Cartyr, the wide receiver, broke his arm this summer and will be out until he's cleared," Miller added.
Senior Ben Shaw, the starting quarterback the last two seasons, has been nothing but positive about the position change.
"If he's upset about it, I haven't seen it," said Miller.
"He's our best football player," he noted. "He will be utilized. We've learned this summer he's capable of playing multiple positions on offense.
"If I ask him to play center, he can step up and do that, too," added Miller.
Waverly will play in a three-way scrimmage at Athens Saturday at 11 a.m. Bloomsburg will also be participating.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly coach Jason Miller. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
