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bparker@beaufortgazette.com
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Truth be told, new Battery Creek High School football coach Carlos Cave was handed the keys to a jalopy when he took the job last week.
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Deprived of a shine of victory for the last 25 games, the exterior has its share of dents, and the wheels appear ready to fall off.
As for the interior, that's not much better. The radio rarely gets good reception from the outside, and the seats are worn from its two previous owners.
Plus, by all indications, Cave only got the spare keys after BC's initial coaching choice turned down the offer for personal reasons.
But despite how bad it sounds, I still think Cave will at least be able to get the car up and running.
It's certainly not his combined 4-17 record in two years as coach at North High School that gives me this hunch. And while Creek's move to AAA play next season is promising after battling the AAAA big boys, a new region featuring Hilton Head Island and North Charleston high schools isn't exactly a walk in the park.
What's got me optimistic is the timing and history surrounding Cave's entrance.
For starters, the word "improvement" can be used rather loosely in this situation. All it's going to take is one victory for the 2008 season to be marked a success in the eyes of those accustomed to the program's recent futility.
And once that slight momentum is gained, the subsequent results can be a pleasant surprise.
Just ask Ridgeland High School football coach Walter Davis, who needed just two wins - the first of which broke the school’s 18-game losing streak - to bring the Jaguars within one victory of the AA playoffs in his first year as coach.
Cave's upward trek at North also is encouraging.
In 2006, Cave won one game with the Eagles, who lost the other nine by an average margin of 30.5 points. A year later, North High had improved by two wins, was competitive in several more contests and made the Class A Division II playoffs as an eight seed.
Of course, getting a W or turning around a program isn't always as simple as it sounds.
Otherwise, BC's last coach, the highly regarded Doc Davis, would have found a way to do it rather than go 0-11 last season.
But that's only made the Dolphins hungrier.
Several of the team's returning starters were all smiles when I asked them their thoughts on Cave's arrival while they competed at a track meet last week.
They could tell Cave cared about winning and would do his best to evaluate the talent at his disposal, which will be key for a group starving for trusted leadership.
And just because Battery Creek keeps losing doesn't mean the players are inferior. All it took was a glimpse of the Dolphins' track and field competitors blazing around the asphalt and flying through the air for me to realize that.
The real issue is making sure those same athletes become and remain committed to the team effort on the gridiron.
Last season, as the losses increased, the roster size went in the opposite direction, which only diminished the squad's morale.
Much of the effort to resolve this problem lies on the shoulders of the players. These teenagers must learn how to use defeat or a spot on the second- or third-string as reason to work harder, rather than as an excuse to give up and complain.
But it's also going to take a big push from Cave, who will have to encourage - or better yet, require - more work in the weight room and a greater focus on the fundamentals that have so often doomed Creek’s tries at success.
Like most beat-up cars, it might take a little push from behind or even a prolonged turn of the ignition, but ultimately, Cave should have the Dolphins' engine revving.
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