One of his top highlights came in 2017 when the Falcons took home their first division title with this year's senior class on board as freshmen. "You don’t necessarily have to win every game to get them in the right mindset, it’s remembering the year before they lost to them 6-0 and now they lost 2-1 or tied them."Ĭlose to a decade later, the framework of the program has evolved and Gage has been able to adjust as a coach. We started to get results, and even if we weren’t winning, we were competing with teams we had never been close with before, which helped. "You can say it all, but the results have to show on the field," Gage said. That season, Jefferson qualified for the state tournament for the first time since 1986. But a 1-0 win over Morris Hills - Gage's first - kicked off more competitive play. In 2011, the Falcons started 0-3 and Gage was concerned that a similar downward slide would occur. Early on, the players within the program were used to losing, but that expectation had to change. The first thing that needed to change for the Falcons program was a shift in mindset. "The players are the one who ultimately put the work in day in and day out, even when we’re not in season, so a lot of that credit goes to them, for sure." "We’ve had a bunch of success the past couple of years and it took a while to get to a point where we were winning league titles and, like last year, a state championship. "The (players) are the ones doing it on the field, so you’ve got to give them the credit, for sure," Gage said. He has averaged better than 10 wins a season since taking over the program.
6 when Gage sealed the 100th victory of his coaching career. A season ago, the program won its first sectional title and a third straight division crown.Īnd another milestone proving the progression of the program came on Oct. After four more losing seasons from 2011 to 2014, but markedly better play, the Falcons have rounded into a consistent contender over the last half decade.
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