The players are here to work this season with the La Salle football team. A team full of camaraderie and perseverance has created an environment that has been leading them to success so far this season.

“It’s almost like we’re a new team,” senior Grant Ellison said.

With rocky starts to the seasons in the past, the team has kept working hard and developing to reach where their goals are today. “We’re a whole lot better team and more chemistry than last year for sure,” junior Manu Tanzambi said.

After Ellison’s freshman year, a majority of the coaching staff moved to coach at Nelson High School. The next year Coach Dustin Janz came to La Salle and took over the program. The team had a meeting where only around 20 students showed up, so they had to work together to recruit new players to come play for the team when they only had people doubting them. 

The team persevered and now that their hard work and dedication has paid off. “It’s been pretty great,” Ellison said.

Through working hard to rebuild the football team over the years the players have created more than just a team, they created a family. “I’ve gained a new family you know, I’m closer than ever with every teammate,” Tanzambi said.

The team along with working hard to reach where they’re at now has recognized that their success on the field also has come from the amount of experience they’ve had together over the years. 

“On the field, I would say we just have a lot of experience because going back to my freshman year was basically all freshmen starting,” junior Mason Mueller said, “We’ve known each other, we’ve played with each other for three years straight basically, so we have a lot of team camaraderie.”

The high amount of camaraderie that the football team has isn’t just from the amount of time they spend together but, “it’s just about suffering together,” Ellison said. The team has been grinding and working towards where they’re at today and it hasn’t come easy to them. With a lack of faith the team has received in the past they’ve stood together and fought to keep going. 

To honor those who have been part of this fight to grow the football program in the past few years the team has created a tradition related to the flag that they run out with every home game. “Leaving seniors will sign the flagpole, so that’s kind of like you’re carrying the people who are pushing the program forward,” Ellison said. 

The mindset of the players has switched this year as they’re finally feeling that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. “Now we’ve seen our success and we can actually believe that we can win something,” junior Paul Skoro said.

“Every single game feels winnable,” Ellison said.

The team has shown a great amount of success this season and this hasn’t gone unnoticed by the community. The team currently has a record of 5-1 overall and a league record of 2-0. The team says this success among other things comes from their confidence and “just believing that we can beat any team that we play,” Skoro said.

“The last two years we haven’t really thought we’d be able to win any games,” Mueller said. “Now, you know, we have a high chance in every single game.”

While the team is on the road to success they’ve recognized that they still have room to grow. “We’re the most athletic team in our conference,” Tanzambi said. “It’s just mental errors that stop us from being really good.” 

Perseverance is what will drive the team to victory and lead them to conquer their goals. “I want to win some playoff games this year,” Mueller said.

“Winning the league would be a huge first step [to winning some playoff games] and a home playoff game,” Ellison said.

With practice six days a week from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. the football team has been putting in the work to reach the success they’re at now. The practices range from different activities that they do. The beginning of practice typically alternates between study hall to get their schoolwork done and lifting and the rest of the practice goes through skill work, to defense, offense, and then to all together teamwork. Saturday at 9:00 a.m. is the team’s recovery day where they’ll work out for an hour doing some running, stretching, and film.

This has led the team to grow in not only their institution but also their strength. “It’s just been good that we’ve been getting in the weight room and it’s paying off on the field,” Ellison said.

The team has recognized that it’s with the coaching staff’s dedication along with their own that they’ve been able to achieve the high performance they’ve been doing. “They know how to treat different players to get the most out of them,” Skoro said.

 “[Coach Janz has] just always been positive and always been uplifting to everyone, no matter what’s going on,” Mueller said. “I feel like that’s really carried through and helped us win some games this year.”

The community has grown more due to the effort put in by the coaching staff to get the team talking with one another. “I feel like the coaching staff also does a really good job of bringing us together through team camp, team features, and retreats,” Mueller said. “I feel like it just helps us get so much closer even with people you don’t know.”

The football team now every game day has a chapel session at 3:30 p.m. where the team will get together and listen to religious studies teacher Mr. McLaughin’s pregame talks. “He gets you really feeling like you can do anything,” Skoro said. “Credit to Mr. Mac.”

After the team will go out and play their hearts out fighting for victory with the student section and cheer team cheering them on. “I think the student section has been amazing this year and it creates so much energy on the field,” Skoro said. “The narrative around the team is changing and it creates a positive influence and mindset for the players.”

The fun doesn’t stop after the game though, as the team does a ritual together. They get together in the locker room to listen to Mo Bamba after their games to rally together about all the work they’d done out on the field. “It’s something that your brain can attach to winning,” Ellison said.

The team, after big wins, will get together, celebrate their accomplishments, and get to eat a nice meal. “We’ll have to call up Sherri’s because the entire starting roster team and then sometimes some of the really key supporting players will all go to Sherri’s after a game, especially after wins,” Ellison said. “It just feels like you’re hanging out with your family.”

As the season is still in play the football team will not back down. “I think we’re doing really good and we have a lot more to come,” Skoro said. “You can just feel that the energy and the morale is way higher than it’s ever been before.” 

Come and support your fellow Falcons at the next home game against The Dalles on October 20.