It's said the more things change, the more they stay the same — something the football players and coaches at the Santa Fe Indian School know very well.

The big change for the Braves in 2010, who are coming off a 2-7 season, is that they will play in a district for the first time in 10 years.

SFIS will not play as a Class AAA independent. Instead, it joins District 5AAA with St. Michael's, Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque Hope Christian School and Pojoaque Valley. The Braves open the season Saturday at home against Class AA Cuba. The team starts district Oct. 9 at home against Pojoaque Valley.

"I'm anxious to see how we measure up against the opponents in our new district," SFIS head coach Ernie Rodriguez said. "We're looking at it as a positive."

However, the prospect of winning a district title and being able to participate in the state playoffs, something Santa Fe Indian School has been unable to do as an Class AAA independent, may not serve as an incentive for the Braves.

"I'm not sure that the kids look at it in those kind of terms," he said. "The majority of kids coming out, want to participate and do well. That's been the emphasis for the past last 12 years.

"We try to win play by play. We enjoy success and winning. But our main business is improving ourselves on a daily basis."

Junior running back Andrew Garcia, agreed that the change wasn't that big a deal just yet.

"I'm sure we'll have more rivalries develop," he said. "We got one with Pojoaque and this is the first year we play St. Michael's. But I think we'll do better than last year."

As for the thing that stays the same, it's Santa Fe Indian School's struggle to find football players.

Like their new district foes at Albuquerque Academy and other small Class AAA and AA schools, SFIS has historically had problems suiting up players.

In a given season, coaches for all of the Braves' squads can count on players leaving for any number of reasons — from family obligations to school transfers.

But few squads at SFIS are affected by the fluctuation of numbers as the school's football team.

"We've had some years where we've had 30-plus kids and had some years where we've had troubles," Rodriguez, who enters his 10th year as head coach, said. "We haven't been able to pin down the reason, other than some years we have more kids who want to participate."

Santa Fe Indian School's football team appears to be in the boon cycle this year. Rodriguez said just more than 30 players showed up for two-a-day practices and he expects the number to increase to 40 when school is in session.

"We have good participation for now — and certainly a lot of rookies," he said.

Junior center Colby Devore said getting and keeping players is a difficulty.

"It's very tough to make sure the same players come out," he said. "But if they stay, they're in all the way. We do have to get guys to learn at least two or three positions, though."

Rodriguez said this approach not only ensures that the team has athletes who know where they're supposed to be, but also produced very knowledgeable football players in the end.

"As coaches, we constantly emphasize the fundamentals," he said. "Sometimes it's easy to get away from the basics. But we spend more time teaching the game to new players so we spend more time on that. But we relish the opportunity to coach kids who are fresh and bring new perspective to the game."

Yet despite the turnover in players and despite having as few as 15 players suited up, Santa Fe Indian School has never forfeited a game in 12 years, said Rodriguez.

"Last year, we had three different players play every single down," he said. "We're trying to develop well-rounded players. We demand excellence in attention and performance. And we feel like we get that."

Another thing that separates the Braves is that Rodriguez and his assistants get assistance from former players on a regular basis.

"This year, a couple of kids came back for two-a-days and helped us before they themselves went off to college," he said.

Rodriguez said the process of teaching often starts for some players as soon as they get to be upperclassmen, helping out rookie and new players who may have never played the game.

"One thing we've preached since Day One is that we're building something, constantly," he said. "At Santa Fe Indian School you are a part of that building and always will be part of a family."

Devore, who himself joined as a freshman and had never played a down of football before, said the family-like atmosphere of the team aids in teaching.

"We treat each other like family, like brothers — we're connected in that way," he said. "A lot of us are far away from home so we have a community at school that helps us. I don't think we do as much coaching (as players) as we just help each other."

Rodriguez said this is consistent with the sense of community that is taught at Santa Fe Indian School.

"They take pride in the school and the team, and they want to help out," he said. "We get kids back on game day, helping out in the locker room and at halftime, working with Braves football players. They never lose that connection. I think it's one of the special things about our team — and our school."