DEMON FOOTBALL IS STANDING TALL

The The Greenway  Demons are set up to be a tough team this year. With their QB Deavon Felix, linebackers Aodhan Murphy and Milo Apodaca and running back Ivan Andarde, things are off to a promising start so far. This Greenway team is looking to make it far in this division and their team chemistry is amazing both on field and off field. The Head Coach, Ed Cook, stresses the importance of having a good relationship on and off the field, so the chemistry continues stays good for the games. This not only helps set the team up for winning but also creates a family.

The good thing about getting off to a fast start with a win is that kids understand what it takes to win on Friday nights. That will push them to work harder during practice because there is no better feeling than walking off the field victorious under those Friday Night Lights.

“As for playoffs that’s all we think about but, we have to stay focussed and thrive through the season,’’Senior Captain Aodhan Murphy said.

Great words spoken from a great leader on the field. Teammates often go to other sporting events to support the athletic programs on campus. Over half the football team went and supported our lady demons when they went up against Deer Valley High school. They were chanting and cheering for every point they put on the board and it was an amazing event and a great team bonding moment for the Greenway Demons football team.

“Obviously I have a huge impact on how the team functions. The team tends to feed off my energy especially early in the season until our leaders step forward. I love this team, it is probably the most diverse team I’ve ever coached. I think all the players bring their own culture and personality to practice and others feed off of that. I don’t think you can coach chemistry but I try to guide it and let it come out on its own,” Coach Cook said. It seems that Coach Cook has a huge impact on the way the team operates together on and off the field. Coach Cook also points out the importance of working with others no matter what differences there may be. “Pointing out to players how different we all are but how much we can learn from each other. It’s a beautiful thing seeing kids from all walks of life come together embracing each other’s cultures and understanding at the end of the day knowing that dude may look different than me but he’s the same as me,” Coach Cook said.

According to the article ”Team Equals Title: The Role of Chemistry in Football” from Bleacher report, in football, if a team is made up of players that mesh together and work as one, then that team is far more likely to succeed than a team that is made up of high-priced stars that are brought in on a yearly basis. Teams that have a chance to come together as one and move, act, think, block as a unit are almost always the most successful ones. Being a unit on the field is more than just winning games, it builds character. ”This particular phenomenon is usually described as “Chemistry” of the talking heads on television, and it’s really the most important part of building a successful team in the NFL (or really football at any level). Team chemistry is what makes mediocre teams good and what makes good teams great,” the ESPN spokesperson said.

Dan Mullen will be glad to hear this, because he’s a football coach who believes that team bonding off the field is just as important as on. “I like all the team stuff, team activities. While they’re here at the facility and work their tail off and do what they’re supposed to do, we’re going to improve, we’re going to be solid,” Coach Mullen said. To emphasize the importance of team bonding, Coach Mullen adds an example of what positive team building looks like off the field. “The positive stuff is when they leave the facility and they go and hang out and have a team cookout or guys’ll be like, ‘Hey, we’re having all the guys over for a team cookout, pool party today.’ Those are the things to me that show they enjoy being around each other on the field and off the field, just shows the closeness of the team and that’s what I like to hear,” Coach Mullen said.

As you can see, team chemistry is a very important part of the football community and teams around the world are having amazing success due to the chemistry they have. As the Greenway Demons look forward to a new game each Friday, the team will make sure to stress team bonding on and off the field each week in order to improve as a whole.