They say that playing sports is 80% mental, 20% physical. In a season filled with expectations, the Freedom High School varsity football team are excelling in both areas.

As the Eagles prepare for the arduous task of delivering the school’s first state championship, they have faced tremendous pressure, and with that pressure can come scrutiny from all sides, as was the case several weeks ago when they defeated Colgan High school 112-16. Much of the conversation afterwards, mostly online, was blasting both the coaching staff and players, labeling them unprofessional for simply doing their job. This brought on a new challenge: how to keep the students focused on their goals, yet deal with the unnecessary vitriol?

On Thursday nights, Coach Darryl Overton and mental health advocate Apostle Karen Betts-Davis, along with several parent volunteers, host a dinner to bring the team together and to talk about how they are progressing in the classroom. In addition, it has become a safe space for the players to express how they are balancing life as a student athlete, as well as dealing with the surrounding challenges, such as a recent string of violent incidents in the area. During the dinner, Betts-Davis will reiterate mental techniques that the players can use to help them to relax and focus on their assignments for the day. For example, during a recent dinner, she discussed the students taking five minutes each morning for meditation, having a moment of self-reflection, and gratitude.

“They are using the techniques and reporting back on how they are helping them. We are seeing a lot of progress,” said Betts-Davis.

How were they able to deal with the recent criticism about the Colgan game? “What people need to understand is that there is a face behind these helmets,” she continued. “These young men are winning in the classroom, overcoming anxieties, and learning to be vocal about their traumas while overcoming them.”

Coach Overton led the dinner by providing an inspiring speech about accountability, emphasizing the need to ensure that they are setting the standards both on and off the field, and that the community is proud of their hard work.

During the dinners, Betts-Davis will encourage the students to draw a mental image of what success will be like on the gridiron, and in life. “If I can imagine it, I can picture it in my mind. I already know that I can achieve it.”

So, how do the students reflect on what they’ve learned? We spoke with junior Aaron Duncan and senior Kendall Bannister about how they’re prepared to deal with the expectations.

“It means a lot, but I think that everyone has their own expectations, and we appreciate them,” said Duncan. “At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to who puts in the most work Mondays through Thursdays, and it wil show on the field.”

Bannister agreed. “We know that the community is looking to us to win, and it comes down to understanding that we have to hold each other accountable in order to do that.”

“We’re very close, so it’s having your brother’s back,” he continues, “and we always want to help each other out, and that’s what we’ve learned being here.”

How do the team dinners help?

“Having the team dinners, it just makes you want to go the extra mile for your brother, and make everyone proud,” said Duncan. “By coming together, everyone has that sense of community that no matter what, we are here together to win this championship.”

As of press time, the Freedom High School Eagles are 9-0, with the goal still in their sights.