So let me make the case for this point of view. My last civilian employment was as the principal of Anna High School, a small school in west-central Ohio. When I went there the high school pretty much and about 45-50 students per grade and did not have a football program. It had been 30 years since I last played the game, and 21 years since I last coached it, but I remembered how much fun it was, especially playing on Friday nights under the lights and then going to school dances in the gym.
So when the opportunity came to start up a program, I took it. Our campaign got a lot of help from our superintendent who also happened to be a football guy. Once we got the program off and running, there were lots of funny experiences along the way, ranging from having to show players how to put their pads on, to playing one of the early "varsity" games at a school that had a dog show for the half-time entertainment!
None of those things cited above or below would have happened, though, if there had not been an intense drive tempered with discipline over a long period of time. It would have been real easy to throw in the towel after a season of "two-a-days" or a winter of pre-school day lifting and running. After all, this had never been done at Anna before. While their friends at other schools were running around all hours of the night, doing who knows what, these young men were now introduced to a new discipline that made certain new demands of them. Men who were good or stars at another sport now had competition for the glory. They had to learn new skill sets, all of which required dedication and DISCIPLINE. I had coached that in my earlier years, but our traditions had been established long ago and everyone knew what was expected. As the principal, I could watch the development from the sidelines, but I really got to see what was going on when I talked to my community friends and my next-door neighbors.
One of the exceptionally great things that happened was our next-door neighbors had three boys and all of them have played or are still playing for the school. The oldest is now graduated and attends University of Toledo. When he was a senior, the team tied for the championship of the MAC (Mid-American Conference), arguably the most powerful football conference in Ohio (based on the number of schools who have won state championships and the total number of championships won -- 34 state championships just in football).
He was also joined by two younger brothers, Dylan and Carter. While all three boys were beset with injuries during their careers, the younger two have had more than their share. Dylan missed pretty much the whole second half of his Junior year and Carter was injured in a pre-season scrimmage and missed the whole season (and all of his basketball season due to the virus plague). Both boys also play baseball and will miss those seasons too.
But this year's team had a unique goal or battle cry -- "Leave no doubt." It seems there was some talk arond the league that Anna wasn't really a co-championship last year because they were just lucky or some other schools had injuries, or whatever. So this year, they set their goals high and were determined to leave no doubt as to who was the champion. Discipline. And why stop with just the league, why not be state champions.
I think the pictures speak for themselves. Not only did they win the Division VI state championship, they did it in a rather convincing manner with 4 "running clocks" in the state play-offs. Quite a feat for a team that only started football in 1999, and played its first varsity game in 2000. Oh, by the way, Anna is the first school in Shelby County to win a football state championship in any division.
Really glad I was able to play a small part in this. Way to go, guys.
"Leave no Doubt" -- not a bad goal for a season (or life) well played.
Hooah
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