Prep football coaches go to great lengths to build team chemistry

Coach Mark Mariakis talks to his team, who are wearing "guardian caps" over their helmets, during the Chargers' football scrimmage at Chattanooga Christian School on Thursday, July 27, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Guardian caps, which are used to mitigate the effects of concussions and blows to the head in football, are seeing increased use as concerns about head injuries in the sport rise.
Coach Mark Mariakis talks to his team, who are wearing "guardian caps" over their helmets, during the Chargers' football scrimmage at Chattanooga Christian School on Thursday, July 27, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Guardian caps, which are used to mitigate the effects of concussions and blows to the head in football, are seeing increased use as concerns about head injuries in the sport rise.
photo Calhoun head coach Hal Lamb shows his displeasure at a official's call. The Dalton Catamounts visited the Calhoun Yellow Jackets in GHSA high school football action on August 25, 2017.

For the 15th consecutive season, Mark Mariakis took his football team away for camp. For the 15th consecutive time, the players learned much more about each other than they did about the sport.

Sure, there were some drills involved, but most of the two days at Camp Skyline in Mentone, Alabama - normally a getaway for girls - was spent building a bond among players that Mariakis believes will make them better people off the field and better teammates on it.

"It's probably the one thing the kids look forward to more than anything every year," said Mariakis, the Chattanooga Christian School head coach who previously helped build Ridgeland into a playoff team.

"It's an incredible place, and what our kids get out of it is bonding together by getting away from parents and all the distractions of being on campus. We do a little football, but most of it is team building, spiritual building and trying to discover how young men are supposed to act."

Football is a tough sport played by tough people who enjoy hitting each other, so how does team bonding actually translate to winning on the field? Just ask Calhoun coach Hal Lamb, who has multiple state titles.

"I think chemistry is the most important ingredient in winning a championship," he said. "You can win a certain amount of games on talent alone, but when it comes to winning the big ones, a team has to have great chemistry. Otherwise, you will never overcome adversity, and every team has to face that."

With 120 players, Lamb and his staff can't afford to take the team off to an extended camp, but the coach's philosophy is to build team chemistry from the top down. Calhoun's seniors and juniors make sure the needed closeness is there.

"The seniors eat together every Thursday night at one of the parents' homes," Lamb said. "Those guys, and our juniors, know what to expect, and if they see something wrong, they take care of it. All these guys aren't going to be best friends, but once they get on the field they have to respect each other."

Other programs share no expense in building a good team bond. Jay Poag takes his Christian Heritage team on a trip to end summer camp each year.

This year's journey included a stop at the University of Tennessee and continued to Ohio, where the Class A private school in Dalton practiced at the University of Cincinnati before spending a night out together learning how to salsa dance at a restaurant. They spent time at the famous Cincinnati Zoo, had a day with the NFL's Bengals and ended the trip with a scrimmage against Cincinnati Country Day School. The trip, Poag said, turned a bunch of kids who mostly grew up apart into a team that cared about one another.

"I think it's huge, especially at a school like ours," he said. "You have schools in small towns where kids have grown up together, but here we've got kids from all over the place. It's a big melting pot, and to get to be able to take them off like that, put them up in hotel rooms and get to know each other is invaluable.

"We start to see each other in a different light. It's great to get off in this bubble we live in and be together. Now when we're off on the field together, we see a different level of spirit and unity and togetherness."

Poag admits the trips are expensive, but he can't put a price on the what is gained.

"We have a phenomenal school and booster club, and this is part of our annual budget," he said. "We have to do without some things, but this is so important. We come back a lot closer, especially when you have a good scrimmage experience, which we did. I don't think you get that sleeping in the gym on your campus for a couple of nights."

It must run in the family. Brother Preston Poag takes his North Murray team to camp at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton. It's not part of a multi-team camp. It's just the Mountaineers getting to know one another.

"It's very important for team bonding," he said. "We can do all the X's and O's on campus here. We have a dedication meet, where the players dedicate themselves to the team. They get up and speak and pour their hearts out. People look fine on the outside, but you never know what's going on in their lives.

"When these kids get to know each other, they start to care, and it definitely shows up on the football field."

It's also a main focus for Bo Campbell at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe. The Warriors annually go to Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp, do training with Marines and spend a day with Andrew Harrington, a search and rescue professional (and Campbell's brother-in-law) from North Carolina.

It's all in the name of creating a family out of a group of kids from various backgrounds.

"FCA camp is great and we will have guys open up and talk about their lives, and coaches do the same," Campbell said. "The Marines come out and do some training with us, and there are some team-building activities where if you don't work as a team you won't get it done. We'll try to do it with guys who don't hang out with each other a lot. It helps build trust with those guys."

The Warriors end their grueling summer with a pool party at Gilbert Stephenson Park, located about a mile from the campus. The players jog to the park together and spend the day swimming and having a belly-flop contest before eating grilled burgers and hot dogs.

"It's fun to see the guys hang out together outside of practice," Campbell said. "There is a lot more to football than X's and O's. I remember my first year here when we were struggling to win a single game, those guys never quit, and it's because they were close. Today, a lot of kids want to quit when things gets tough, but if they get close and want to fight together, they won't."

Mariakis, whose CCS team went through an extensive training session with Navy SEALS this summer in addition to getting away to camp, said the off-field work is critical for any program, but especially one the size of CCS. One player with selfish goals can make a big difference.

"If they are not connected and unified, then you will see the ones who are in it for themselves only and the ones who are in it for the bigger picture," he said. "How much do you value your teammates? How much do you value the coaches and the sport? The whole arena of football demands respect because it's tough.

"As hard as it may get on the football field, it's nothing like what they've accomplished off it. The memories we get they talk about all year long, and you can't put a value on that. Unless someone makes me, I will never stop doing it."

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22

Upcoming Events