Author: April Stelle (class of '24)
This year’s Morristown high school team was historic. For the first time in 20 years, they started off the season with a 3-0 record. So, what have they been doing differently? According to team captains Braden Van Zile, Giakoby Hills, and Reed Donegan, the team’s attitude and effort are the secrets to their success.
“Last year we had a great group of guys but this year we put in more effort and attitude in all of our plays, we got a young team but they’re committed,” Giakoby commented, adding to Braden’s observation, “some players took it not as seriously as we should’ve last year, this year we’re taking it a lot more seriously and it’s showing.” Braden and Giakoby, now seniors, have been playing for Morristown since they were freshmen. They have experienced being on three other teams yet, they have outstanding praise for this squad’s work ethic. The entire team has changed their effort in practice and their attitude towards preparing for games. As Braden put it, “hard work is more important than talent,” and this team is fully aware of that. They do not leave anything to chance. The team puts forth their best efforts in practice which results in positive outcomes of games. That effort definitely shows in their record.
While working hard is crucial to success, Reed also emphasized “team chemistry,” highlighting that he’s “learned to rely on my teammates and have full trust in them because if we have full trust in each other, we can perform well on the field.” There is no room for selfishness in football; you play as a team. “Just do your part, don't ever try to do anything extra, just get the job done,” Giakoby stressed, demonstrating the selfless attitude of Morristown’s players. A clear example of this is Reed’s overall individual goal for this season, just to “do as much as I can to help the team win.” Morristown is focused on playing well as a unit with one common goal: to win.
With this goal in mind, individual effort is also critical to motivating the team as a whole. Reed tries to motivate his teammates by “just working hard every day, leading by example.” If the younger players see one of their captains putting his head down and going to work, they are bound to follow. Braden focuses more on the disciplinary aspect, trying his best to “keep everyone in check, make sure everyone is showing up and doing the right thing and not goofing off because that’s how we get off track.” Giakoby has a similar sentiment, advising his teammates to “keep working hard because you never know who’s watching.” With mentors like these, it is no surprise the freshmen team have had a great start to the season as well, evident of their own hard work and dedication, most likely stemming from their team leader’s attitudes.
Each captain’s own experience as a freshman and sophomore provides them with the understanding of what the underclassmen experience on JV or the freshmen team, further contributing to their leadership skills. Reed and Giakoby both focused on “always working hard,” because of the opportunities hard work brings on varsity and beyond. Braden specifically advised underclassmen on their efforts on scout team because “if you do well on the scout team, you’ll get moved up to the first team. That’s what it means to be a scout team warrior.”
Overall, the captains set the tone for working hard this season right away, for both their teammates and themselves. All three have their individual goals for the season; Giakoby hopes to get a D1 offer, Braden is trying for 700 all-purpose yards, and Reed wants to be a large factor in his team’s success, yet they all have one goal in common; a state championship. Giakoby summed up the key to getting there perfectly, “you can’t coach effort, you can coach everything else but your attitude and your effort is one thing you can’t coach.”
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