Band of Brothers strikes balance between football & life

Band of Brothers strikes balance between football & life

Marion’s annual trip to Malven full of thrills

Sports Editor There’s no right or wrong approach to team-building in high school football.

Some coaching staffs opt for a trip to the movies, or positional group outings to establish chemistry.

Sometimes a team can have a big bash at the end of the summer to come together for a common goal.

At Marion High School, third-year head coach Jed Davis likes to strike a balance between fun and work.

Upon being hired as Marion’s head coach in March of 2014, Davis established his annual “Band of Brothers” retreat as a way to get his group on the same page before the season begins.

“It all started maybe my third or fourth year as a head coach (at Mayflower),” explains Davis. “I was looking for something to bring the team together, and also something to really challenge our kids. That’s when one of my assistants suggested that we do something like Remember The Titans, he said we should take them away to a camp or something like that and I really liked that idea.”

This season, over 80 Marion football players attended the retreat at Family Farm Camp in Malven, and the results were “awesome,” according to Davis. “I had a parent tell me one time that his kid hated the camp, so it must have been a good deal,” cracks Davis. An average day on the retreat begins at 5 a.m.

with the blaring of Natasha Bedingfield’s 2008 hit, “Pocketful of Sunshine,” followed by a combination of football activities, and other ways for the team to come together.

Davis says that the events range anywhere from ziplining to swimming to playing nine-square in their cabins.

“The best part is that we’re all together and we all do the same things.

Where if we were all back in Marion, maybe a kid misses a workout, or maybe he comes to the field, goes home and doesn’t come back that. On a trip, they have no choice but to practice,” Davis says with a laugh.

Another highlight of the camp are various speakers that come and talk to the team and coaches. As an added bonus, they’re always someone who is not affiliated with the team, giving the team a fresh perspective.

“One time we had a a Texas All-State player come and talk to the guys about going from being a really big deal to being a scout team player in college,” explains the coach.

“I think that was something that was good for the guys to hear, from someone who has gone through that.”

Another speaker this year was a minister who witnessed to the team, and as a result, three players were saved and gave their lives to Jesus.

“The first year we did this, I think it was 14 or 15 kids that were saved, last year I think it was 12,” Davis says. “That’s something that’s so awesome to see as a coach, because it adds to what we’re doing with football even more so, I think.”

The team was gone for four days, and they had workouts at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, and at Glen Rose High School, both at the football field and the outfield of the baseball field.

As though that wasn’t an eventful enough couple of days, as the team was loading up, defensive coordinator Justin Smith had an idea that was a winner for Davis.

“We’re getting ready to home and Smith says ‘Hey, why don’t we go climb Pinnacle Mountain before we head home?’ and it made sense, so we did that before we left town,” Davis says. “That’s just one of those things where we do a little extra.”

By Chuck Livingston