For being a sport, the game of football is very physical and violent. Therefore, football players have to do a significant amount of behind the scenes work to build a successful team. Whether they stay after practice to get some extra conditioning in, or go out to the field on weekends and holidays, they do what they must to put together a winning team.

“You have to put 150% into everything you do,” sophomore quarterback Garret Scott said. “No matter if it’s football or school work, or anything. Always 150%.”

Dedication is really important as well in the sport, and is a huge factor in a great team.

“We put in a lot of hard work,” Christian Escamilla, the sophomore starting inside linebacker, said. “We come out here from about 3 p.m. to sometimes 6:30 p.m., just putting in work all day to get better.”

However, there are plenty of other sides of the ball than just offense and defense.

“[The mental aspect of the game is] actually the biggest part,” Escamilla said. “If you aren’t mentally prepared for a game, you are already preparing yourself to lose.”

On top of all of that, the time where the most dedication and hard work happens is over the summer break.

“[SAC Camp] is a very important cornerstone in being successful as a team,” the starting varsity team wide receiver Klay O’neal said. “In the summers, we have to wake up at around 7:30 a.m. and be at the school by 8 o’clock. We lift weights until about 9:10, alternating between back and legs and chest and arms.”

“From 9:10 a.m. to about 10:30 we would do drills or sprints that may include 110 yard dashes, it all depends on what kind of day it is,” O’Neal said. “We run a whole lot during practice, and it may suck, it may seem bad, but it will help us play better in the fourth quarter; and that’s where it will really count.”

Without teamwork, a football team can’t happen, but that is just one portion. A football team is a family, a bond that can never be broken. Without the work before and after the game, it is impossible to have a winning team; which is why all of the extra work has a significant outcome.