A desire for different colored cleats on gamedays led to an attendance challenge this summer for the seniors on the West Central Valley Wildcats football team. West Central Valley head football coach Eric Addy joined the Guthrie County PM Sports Page this week as we continued previewing the upcoming high school football season in Iowa. Addy was asked about the role weightlifting had on a football programs success, and the question uncovered a story about incoming senior Cole Arnburg’s desire to wear different colored cleats. “One cool thing that I said is that if we had certain guys get over 95% attendance in the weight room that seniors will be able to wear white cleats (during football games),” Addy said, “(The players) were like ‘Coach, can we wear white cleats?’ at around the end of the school year. If you guys really want to wear white cleats, this is what I need to see for attendance in the weight room, and it was specifically with Cole Arnburg. He did an awesome job stepping up and getting to the weight room and being a leader.”

Arnburg fulfilled Addy’s 95% attendance requirement and Wildcat senior football players will now have the option of wearing white cleats during regular season games this fall. Addy adds the challenge worked so well this summer that they’re considering adopting the idea for next summer as well. The West Central Valley football team will host the Clarke Indians in the annual sports drink scrimmage this Friday at 7 p.m. The Wildcats kick off the 2018 season for real next Friday in Urbandale against the Des Moines Christian Lions.