Montezuma-Cortez senior quarterback Cordell Ridings stepped forward and crossed his arms, then cleared his throat.
“I’m head coach Dave Wagner from Arizona,” Ridings announced to the players and coaches seated in the old high school auditorium on Tuesday afternoon.
It was the second week of the M-CHS football camp and the afternoon activity included skits performed by each class.
It was immediately clear which direction the seniors’ skit was headed.
After the initial wave of cackling died down, Ridings continued, making liberal use of the word, “predicated.” He crammed the word into his monologue as often as he could, whether or not it made sense contextually.
The assistant coaches and a few of the players got the hyperbole and laughed even harder.
Some coaches may not have appreciated being parodied, but Wagner simply laughed.
“I guess I do say predicated a lot,” he admitted chuckling.
When he first scheduled the skits, Wagner assumed that one of the groups might impersonate the coaches, so it didn’t come as a surprise when the seniors went down the line, one-by-one, and mimicked each member of the staff.
Ridings’ impression of Wagner wasn’t a surprise to defensive coordinator Keith Mikhail either. But that was because he had given the seniors the idea.
However, Mikhail hadn’t suggested that players imitate any other coaches, so when Austin Bayless stepped forward and claimed to be Keith Mikhail, he couldn’t help but toss his head back in laughter.
There was a reason the team was in the auditorium acting out skits during football camp.
It was the same reason that Wagner scheduled a root beer chugging contest on Monday, set aside time for players to learn the school’s fight song on Tuesday and showed a team movie each night during the overnight camp.
He was building a team.
The new head coach didn’t want players divided into cliques, or varsity players separated from junior varsity players. He wanted one team.
“Unity,” was the word Wagner used. And he hoped that laughing and having fun together during the silly contests would help his team achieve it.
“This is where you build the core,” Wagner explained. “They’re laughing together, they’re watching each other do crazy stuff, they’re doing skits, they’re singing in front of each other. It’s great.”
But Wagner’s emphasis on chemistry didn’t cause him to neglect practice or take it easy on the players. It wasn’t all games.
The former U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer also believed that experiencing struggles together strengthened relationships.
“It’s easier to go through hard things with other people,” he said. “It builds camaraderie.”
That’s where the 3-mile run each morning at 5:30 a.m. came into play. The players were required to run together, without letting anyone fall behind.
Football camp was just one part of Wagner’s plan to bring the team together. The next step will begin at the start of the school year, when he will install the team’s mentoring program.
Players will be responsible for keeping each other accountable academically. Each freshman will be partnered with a senior and each sophomore with a junior.
“So if a freshman has a ‘D,’ then a senior is going to be in study hall with him,” Wagner said.
Wagner has a specific vision for how he wants to form the 2015 Panthers. And the two-week football camp and mentoring program are just building blocks.
The real test will be the actual season.
“The season is what cements it together,” Wagner explained. “By the time we get to game four or five - that’s when we’ll know whether the cement is going to hold or not.”
