The football season has come to a close for this year. This year, the junior high team has put in a lot of hard work to show passion for football.
“I would have liked to see better wins and losses, but as a team, I think we did well and lived out all of our values,” Matt Brown, junior high coach, said. The football team’s record is 2-5. The team played Carlynton, Western Beaver, South Side, Quaker Valley, Rochester, Keystone Oaks, and Cornell. The Freedom Bulldogs beat the teams South Side and Rochester.
The team has spent time since February lifting and practicing, but some things got in the way.
“A big challenge that we face every year is injuries. There were a few players on the team that could not participate in some games because of them,” Coach Brown said. Many people want to play football, but it is a sport and game of desire, which can mean injuries and possibly the inability not to play. Injuries can hurt a whole team because even the most skilled and needed players may get hurt.
Coach Brown has put together a set of goals. These goals are to remind players that they are playing for a reason and to show them that they can do things that may be challenging. The first goal is to win the next play. He talks about how you need to focus on the play in front of you, and not to worry if you did something wrong or messed up on the last play. The other goal is to get better every time you step on the football field. This means that you have to get a little bit better every time you play football.
Another good thing that Coach Brown has set up is team values. These values are to play as a family and to lift your friend when they fall. Another is to have a “can-do” mindset, which means to always tell yourself that you can do something even if it’s hard. Another value is to have fun because football is a fun sport. The last value is to always give 100% effort even when you don’t feel like it, with an emphasis on the fact that you grow when you’re uncomfortable.
“I enjoy coaching because I like investing into making better young men,” Coach Brown said.
