PEA RIDGE — As the 2012 football season slowly begins to take shape amid the polls and “expert” predictions, fans and supporters alike try to discern just how good their team might be this year.
Perhaps more so than in any other sport, proper teamwork is the one trait that must be exhibited by any football squad that wants to be truly successful.
Quoting Andrew Carnagie, ”Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common goal, the ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives. Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”
In the preseason football forecast magazine “Hooten’s Arkansas Football,” the Blackhawks Dayton Winn is listed as one of the best three running backs in the entire state in the 4A classification. Winn was given the additional privilege of having his picture printed alongside the list of 4A Super Team Players, the only one to be so honored.
While having perhaps the top running back in the state on the field for Pea Ridge, will that mean the ’Hawksare a shoo-in for a winning season? The answer is yes and no.
The challenge with having such a high profile for any gifted player is that opposing teams will see Winn’s No. 6 as anyone else might see a bull’s eye. More than one team might decide to make stopping Winn from succeeding as job number one. This is where the aforementioned teamwork comes in.
Properly done, each member of the team should have it as a paramount goal to make all the other members of his team look good. Teammates should have common goals, be accountable to each other and above all, be encouragers to each other. There is a roleto play for every members of a football team. The 2012 ’Hawks players have a wide diversity of talents and skills, all of which can be utilized towards a common goal.
A lot of sports writers talk about the “culture” that pervades successful football programs and how that culture helps some schools churn out successful football teams year after year after year, no matter the talent. Think Prairie Grove and try to remember a year when they were bad or had a losing year.
Winn is not the only player with the ’Hawks that might have the “star” tag placed next to his name this year, but ultimately, it won’t be the stars that become the final difference between a good season and a great one. As the chain analogy goes, a team is often only as good as its weakest link.
Any team that commits to stopping the ’Hawks’ running game above all else will be opening opportunities for quarterback Austin Easterling to either pass to a number of possible receivers or even run the ball himself. With quickness matching Winn’s, Easterling could be an outstanding tailback if not for being Pea Ridge’s field general. His three years as the starting quarterback has given Easterling lots of experience in nearly every kind of situation, a qualitythat will prove invaluable in 2012.
Focusing on Winn and Easterling could open the door for Braxton Caudill to run rampant, with Jonah Torres also being able to run to daylight. On the passing side, Easterling will have a quick athletic receiver in Daniel Beard who has proven himself capable of the “big play” on numerous occasions. Junior Logan Rose and Joey Brown are also targets to deal with by opposing defenses.
A lot of the thuds to be heard on the gridiron this year will be the work of the ’Hawks’ Morgan gang.
The “Gang of Two” will be operating this fall with Dalton Morgan at fullback and Garrett Morgan at tight end.
The pair will be delivering some bone-jarring blocks this season on offense while punishing ball carriers when on the defensive side of the ball.
The ’Hawks will have size in their favor with linemen Jayce Anderson (250 lb.), Tyler Handy (285 lb.), Blake Roughton (270 lb.), Jace Junkins (250 lb.), Zach Norris (240 lb.), Will Klein (215 lb.), Lucas Fancher (230 lb.) and Ben Biddiner (260 lb.)manning the trenches. All things being even, having size is way better than not having it.
There are quite a few boys who will be making a difference this year, many who have yet to even play in a varsity game. Inexperienced as those players might be, they will be key components to the ’Hawks’ ultimate success or failure.
I read a paper by one Bruce Tuckman, who published a guide to success in 1965. In his article, he described a team’s ascent to greatness to come in four stages. He called his stages the forming, storming, norming and performing routes to ultimate victory.
On the forming level, people or players are brought together to start the construction of a group that is better than the sum of its parts. The storming phase sees the players battle for a position or place on the team with the pre-season competition honing the talents of all who take part.
In the norming phase, players get to know their own strengths and weaknesses and accept their assigned positions to best utilize their talent for the good of theteam. The performing part are the games themselves.
All teams have a personality. Teams that win have a winning personality. They have players up and down the lineup and on the sideline who will do whatever it takes to encourage their teammates to play better than they are. Teammates hope for the success of all their fellow players.
Carnagie’s belief that common folks working together can have uncommon success has been proven time and time again. There is practically no limit on how successful the 2012 Blackhawks will be this year, but it will rest upon the shoulders of every member of this years team, not justa few.
Looking up on a clear summer night, you can see a lot of stars, some brighter than others. But, still, they are all stars.
◊◊◊
Editor’s note: John McGee is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through Times at [email protected].
Sports, Pages 8 on 07/11/2012