While taking a break between the 7 on 7 games at Cookeville High this past Thursday, the Review  sat down with DCHS football head coach Steve Trapp to ask a few questions. 
Smithville Review:  What goals have you set for this year's team?
Coach Trapp: Pretty much each and every year we have goals. A lot of them carry over.
One of our first goals, definitely, is to win a district title. That is something that has not been done here. That is something that programs, even NFL teams, try to accomplish.
They don't say they want to win a Super Bowl; they say they want to win a conference title.  That will put them on a path to win that.
So, first and foremost, Trapp continued, we want to win a District Title.  That will enable us to possibly have a home playoff game. That is something that we have never had before.  It is something we are shooting for.
 I just want to help develop these kids to be better people. Ultimately, that's going to make us a better football program.
Review: Who will need to step up, group or individual, for this year's team to be successful on the field?
Trapp: We have a lot of kids coming back. We were so young last year that we had a lot of sophomores starting.  A few freshmen rolled in and out. 
Every player in our program needs to step up.  Each and every individual from the four-year seniors to the first-year freshmen have a role to play in this program.
They have to understand what their role is, and then they have to do their best to make sure they accomplish what we are asking them to do.
  So, individuals get accolades and things like that, but ultimately it takes each and every person in this program to get what we want.  It's on everybody, the coaching staff, the players, and the community.
If we do our job right, everyone else will fall into place. So, each individual needs to step up, and that's all we expect from them.
Review: Is there anyone new on this year's staff that you would like to officially introduce?
Trapp: Oh yes, definitely!  Donald Berninger is our new Defensive Coordinator this year. Coach Bernie was at Cannon County for a couple of years in 2008 and 2009.
  He has a lot of college and high school experience. He is a coach of over 30 years; so, he is bringing a lot of knowledge into the program.
  He really fits into our philosophy and what we want to do with these kids, both on and off the field.
Coach Bernie is just an all around great guy; we are really excited for him to be a part of our program.  The kids are really buying into what he is putting into the program. He is personable as well.
The rest of our staff is intact, aside from Coach Johnson. He left and went back to Hartsville. Coach Vance is also not helping this year.
We still have Coaches Clarence, Shaw, and Bruce. I am glad to have the group of coaches that I have.
Review: Who do you think will be the team to beat in the district?
Trapp: It always starts with Smith County.  They have got 12-15 coaches and 80 kids, a lot for a small school. You know they have the facilities; they have everything.
They do a great job of coaching. I have a lot of respect for Coach Maynard. He is a super nice guy.
It starts with Smith County; ultimately, we are not looking for them until it is time to play them. We still have to take care of our business before we get to that point.
Hopefully when we come to game 4, there will be some district title implications on the line.  That is what we are expecting.
We will continue to keep working to get better each and every day. Hopefully, that will be a situation that we can handle when we get there.
Review: How do you feel about where the mindset of your team is, going into the season?
Trapp: I'm excited about where our team's mindset and attitude is right now. 
One of the biggest issues, and ultimately I feel like last season was kind of my fault, was that we lost site of what it takes to be a successful program. That starts with me.
Since January drills started, we have been on the players, each and every day, about their mindset and attitude, about what it takes to get what they want out of life, not just football.
We have really gotten onto these guys about taking care of the little things, that way it's not a problem to take care of the big things. 
I am excited about where our attitude is.  I love watching these guys compete and work together, seeing them come to work and do the things they are asked to do.
If we continue to build on what we have put in place over the winter and then over the summer, and we continue to keep building into the fall, it will really be exciting to see the opportunities these guys make for themselves. 
It will be exciting to see them be a very successful football team this year.
Review: What position battle is very close at this point?
Trapp: We have not even gotten into pads yet, so we have people penciled in off what they have done in the spring.
Offensively, with the scheme that we run, I am going to use eight wide receivers, so we will be rotating players in and out there.  I have seen a lot of great things out of those guys.
Running Backs, we will be rotating a couple out of there as well. 
Quarterback, Lucas Phillips is the guy.  I am really excited to see how he has developed thru the winter and spring. 
He has gotten bigger and stronger, and he is really looking the part.  Lucas really understands what I am trying to do offensively. 
We are at the 7 on 7, and I have not even had to call a play in the last two games.  He is taking over, and that is awesome to see. 
Lucas sees what's out there, and he is calling plays, and it is working.  He is the type of kid that I can allow to do just that.  I have complete trust in him.
I will be using so many young guys that played last year, and our numbers are better this year. 
We are going to have a defensive line rotation. Too many to rattle them all off by name, but there will be several guys producing for us.  I am very excited about their potential this year!
Review: You only have six seniors in this years class; what do you expect from them, on and off the field?
Trapp: Well, most of the seniors have been here for four years; Zach Taylor, Jake Odom, Zach Thompson, Dillon Freeney (three years), Wesley Mason (one year), and Sebastian Phillips.
I expect these seniors to be leaders because, they know what to expect from me. They know what to expect during practice. They know what game week preparation is all about. 
These seniors have been to the playoffs; they have not been to the playoffs, and they know how that feels.
 I expect them to lead this team. I expect them to help keep that mindset and attitude where it is supposed to be. All six of these seniors will be asked to produce and perform for us. 
It's a small class of seniors, but each and every one will be playing. I expect a lot out of them.
Review:  Going into the season, is there anyone injured?
Trapp:  No; we are all healthy. We have 51 guys on the roster.
Like I said earlier, we have not been in pads yet. They have to know that with putting the pads on, bumps and bruises will come, and in the sport of football, you have to learn how to play with some of those minor things.
We are not going to put these guys in a situation to get them hurt, but it is football. Some of these guys will have to learn how to play with some of that, some of the time. 
These guys have a great attitude, great mindset; they shake it off and keep going. We will take care of them. Hopefully we can get thru the season without any major injuries.
Last year was one of the worst seasons I have had, since I have been here, as far as injuries are concerned. We had eight guys that were unable to play due to serious injuries, at one time.
We had three or four surgeries. I have never had that collectively, in one year before. Hopefully we can avoid doing that again.
 I can't say it enough, I am really excited about this year’s team.
Review: What does “Tiger Pride” mean to you, and how has it evolved since you have taken over at DCHS?
Trapp: Well, you know, Tiger Pride to me is a living, breathing thing.
I tell these guys, once you get out of here, you will always be a Tiger, and you want to be proud of that. Once they leave this football program, they can take out the Tiger and put their name in; it can still apply to their life.
Ultimately,“Tiger Pride” is about people; the way you treat people, the way you help people, the way you interact with people.
One of the first things we do in January is sit them down and define it for them.  It's about dealing with people.  We have 51 players on our team. They don't like the same music or the same food. We like different things. We have different backgrounds and come from different types of homes.
For the team to be successful, we have to understand these differences and bond together, be there for each other. It is about being proud of the person you are and the way you deal with other people.
 It ties directly to the three other aspects of our program, which are: great effort, great attitude, and ultimately the Golden Rule, treat people the way you want to be treated. We should just be able to tap a kid on the shoulder and say, come on...Tiger Pride Dude, and we are back on track.
I think every school has the pride concept, but it gives me chill bumps just thinking about it. It's an awesome thing, especially when all these people get their Tiger Pride shirts and wear them.
It really means something to me, and it really means something to these kids. We appreciate the community supporting us and buying those shirts and wearing them out in town. I have seen them everywhere now.
We have been selling those shirts for five or six years, and I can remember the style each year, and I still see some of the old styles everywhere.  It's a great thing!
Review: Over the last few years, we have been a passing offense.  Are you keeping the same philosophy, or are you going to rely more on the run?  Have you changed your philosophy at all?
Trapp: No, my philosophy has not changed. Ultimately, what we try to do is look at our personnel and figure out what we can do the best.
Last year, we went to some more power sets and I back formations and things like that. Then, when Lucas took over, we kind of got back into our spread offense.
What makes me so excited about our offense this year is, I feel like I can do anything that I want to do. As a coach, that is a great feeling.
I feel if I want to line up in a spread, and throw the ball around, I can do it. If I want to line up in double tights, load up the backfield, and run it down someone's throat, I feel I can do it. I can run a pro, I can run the wishbone, and we have a little bit of that. 
We have some wrinkles in our offense that have definitely not been seen before. That's what makes me so excited about our offense.
Review: What do you expect from your line this year?
Trapp: Again, I have high expectations. This is one of the few years where we have at least three returning starters on the offensive side of the ball. That's pretty good.
 On the defensive side of the ball, we had a 6-8 man rotation last year, and all of those guys are back.
We only had six seniors last year with a couple of them hurt, not being able to play a lot, so we pretty much have everything back. We only have one senior lineman on either side of the ball this year, so I am really excited.about having the guys back next year.
Next year, if everything goes the course, our whole offensive line will be back, our whole defensive line will be back. 
For the next two years, we will have a great deal of experience.  These guys had to start when they were sophomores, and the bad thing about that is you have to endure a 3-7 season. I felt that we were better than that, and our attitude got the best of us.
They have tasted the playoffs, and then some of them tasted that last year. They are hungry, and their attitudes and mindsets are a lot better. My job as a coach is to keep them there.
 I am going to work extremely hard, as well as, my other coaches, to make sure we do have a fun fall this year.