Recently I joined the GWEC American Football Team during their practice. Coaches Mr. Lanza, Mr. Batista, and Mr. Dante offered their insight on how training on the new field for the first time will impact the football player’s performance. Although, the American Football Team made it to playoffs last year their focus for the upcoming season is to increase their determination, discipline, and teamwork abilities using the new field. So far it has seemed to motivate them and empower them to make it to championships in their future games and upcoming scrimmages.
Many of these football players have been playing for the last couple of years or are recently starting and joining the season in football. Either way, these players are willing to work as hard as possible and build their skills daily regardless of the obstacles they encounter. Their focus as a team is to build sportsmanship, commitment, and leadership when practicing and playing together in the upcoming academic school year. To get a variety of perspectives from the team and coaches I decided to interview Patrick Cole (Captain of the American Football Team), Adrian Arias (Wide Receiver), Mr. Lanza ( Head Coach of the American Football Team), and our soon-to-be graduate Maki Joseph (Football Alumni and Coach Assitant).
TCA Heights: First I decided to kick it off by interviewing the captain of the American Football Team Patrick Cole who is a rising senior in the High School for Law and Public Service and has been playing receiver for most of his seasons in football. However, last year he played safety and corner and he hopes to be in the quarterback position for this upcoming season.
TCA Heights: How will this new field motivate you and keep your defensive position?
Mr. Cole: “I mean this field just looking at it I already get a boost of motivation, but I think is really just going to motivate me to help my team and hopefully lead us to a huge win because we got this approved this year, you know getting this whole field and stuff.”
TCA Heights: How do you feel about the upcoming football team?
Mr. Cole: “I feel confident in us I think a lot of us have been you know hit with the reality of if we don’t work for it we’re not going to win anything and I think this year we are going to have a winning team ( That means we will win the championships.”)
TCA Heights: How will last year’s experience strengthen you to prepare with your teammates?
Mr. Cole: “Last year’s experience was me just really like from getting my feet wet to just swimming in the water, so I know what I am doing now and I am confident in my abilities and I think it will just help me win overall.”
TCA Heights: What is one skill you would give to a new teammate who is entering and playing American football for the new season?
Mr. Cole: ” One skill I would give them is motivation and discipline because that is the most important thing in this world when I first came I was literally a nobody everybody just thought I was going to be a bench player the whole time now I am probably about to be the star in quarterback.”
TCA Heights: What is one piece of advice you would give to your future self and senior self as a football player?
I decided to not only have our Captain’s perspective but secondly gain a second perspective by interviewing Adrian Arias who is the wide receiver and is currently a junior at the High School for Law and Public Service.
TCA Heights: How will this new field motivate you?
Mr. Arias: “Oh! A lot this field is going to motivate me a lot is going to want me to play more, take the sport more seriously.”
TCA Heights: How do you feel about the upcoming football team?
Mr. Arias: “I feel like they are going to enjoy playing here because now they got a purpose.”
TCA Heights: Who’s they?
Mr. Arias: “The team the Trojans can’t lose here they have to make the house look good.”
TCA Heights: How will last year’s experience strengthen you to prepare with your teammates?
Mr. Arias: “I mean last year’s experience we did kind of good, We made it to the playoffs we could have done way much better there is more room for improvement and I feel like now we have experience on how it feels to be on the playoffs, so now we know what to do to get there.”
TCA Heights: What was one challenge you encountered last year and hope to change this year?
Mr. Arias: “Not being motivated to play sometimes just in general, sometimes I’ll be late and now coach knows I am working to improve that.”
TCA Heights: What is one skill you would give to a football player entering the season?
Mr Arias: “One skill is sportsmanship because we can’t always get ahead of yourself and be better than somebody else you have to treat yourself as equal as everybody.”
TCA Heights: What advice would you give to yourself and upcoming football player?
I decided to not only have our Captain’s and Wide receiver perspective but also interviewed Mr. Lanza (Head coach of the American Football team) who has been the coach for twelve seasons now and for the last several years he has been in charge of the American football team. During his 2013 and 2014 seasons when coaching he mentions how the American football team was able to earn a title. While the following year the American football team became undefeated and went off to playoffs. He then describes how during COVID-19 there was a slight drawback due to COVID-19 and now is excited to hunt for more winnings and looking forward to the championships.
TCA Heights: How do you feel coaching the American Football players in this new season?
Mr. Lanza: “The time is better prepared I guess than over the last several years because now we have this program working more in cohesion to building a better program we have a lot of returning kids who are still interested in playing who are going to be a big help for us to be successful this year.”
TCA Heights: What is one challenge that you encountered as a coach that you are willing to change for this upcoming season?
Mr. Lanza: “So many things have been challenging at this school because, from the very beginning when I got here, I noticed that the interest in football was never as good as it was on baseball. So, we always had to work around that but I think that now we have the addition of the brand new field and hiring coach Batista who has been a tremendous help for our program is also a teacher in the building. I think things here have changed dramatically and so now things are going to be easier to have a successful football team.”
TCA Heights: What tools or skills would you give to your players that would allow them to keep a strong mindset in the field?
Mr. Lanza: ” There’s a lot of stuff that comes with that you know I mean a lot of the time I’ll take a few kids as examples they came into the program as young freshmen Patrick Cole, Kelvin De Jesus a few several others Adrain Arias. They really had a poor understanding of what it took to become a better athlete, especially a better football player. What I have noticed that the challenges were not only as a coach but, also watching these players develop. To motivate them along the way to becoming something that they would have no idea that they can reach and now I see that their goal is to reach to a higher level.”
TCA Heights: How would you prepare your players to work as a team and win more games this year?
Mr. Lanza: ” That really comes through a commitment from not only the coaches staff that’s number one but also from the players and I say once we establish a chemistry amongst the team and build a culture where their mentality and their mindset is to work harder than they normally work because is all about work and then they’ll reach a higher level on not only in individual skills, but it will spill over into becoming a better team.”
TCA Heights: How will this new field impact your players and coaching?
Mr. Lanza: ” Dramatically it will impact it, they never seen this before when I came in today for the first time I am looking at a field that you see throughout the country, I mean if the stands were a little bit bigger it would be like a college stadium. So, they will be inspired by this whole thing I mean we had issues with our field because through the rain storms we had here the field never took the water properly and it was a disaster when we play games.”
TCA Heights: What advice would you give to a new football player entering the new season and future football players?
Mr. Lanza: ” Well for a new player I basically want to ease up on him at the very beginning to make him understand that it’s about progression, it’s about understanding that it’s a working project that you need to time to get to where you have to be and if they can understand that that concept they’ll be better off for it, but that takes a lot. Some kids they might quit on themselves because they don’t think that they can do it and that’s a challenge for a coach and my other coaches. The other guys are easier to deal with because they know where they are, they know where they at now so the motivation for them is usually greater.”
TCA Heights: Now! that you have received an insight on how the new field is impacting The American Football Team and coaches. I came across Maki Joseph who has been playing football for the last ten years of his life and currently has been playing for his last four years of high school. Maki is from the High School for Law and Public Service and now is in the last year of his senior year and is helping his football teammates develop various skills and give them motivation for their upcoming season. Mr. Joseph has been an aspiring leader here in the American Football team for the last couple of years and is willing to give his teammates a high amount of support and advice before he graduates from The George Washington Educational Campus. Maki, you will be missed by all of your teammates and coaches!
TCA Heights: How do you feel coaching these new players?
Mr. Joseph: “I like to be able to inspire the people I have been able to play with and newcomers because I enjoy the sport so much. So, to have the privilege to be able to come out and sort of lead the way for the other students who want to do what I did in a sense and considering like I did it from freshman year like no role models because we had COVID is like way more difficult and way more different that’s why I like to be able to take that out of the way or make it easier for other students who are trying to get into it. Is sort of like a benefit of being a young individual, I just finished playing football this year and to be able to see people who ended up being my teammates or who ended up being in the position that I am, there is going to be new upcoming captains and new upcoming skill position players and I want to be able to show them how I fitted into that role.”
