The Air Academy football team has plenty of enthusiasm
Rob Namnoum
When head coach Waymond Jackson took over the Air Academy football team, he had a plan to build his culture, “I wanted the guys to bond, to support one another. You know, it’s bigger than the game of football. So we wanted to make sure that we had guys that we were building their character, not just their athleticism,” says Jackson.
Now entering his second year, it seems his message is being heard loud and clear, “Let me tell you, the energy level between the previous years and then this year is different. I am never been this excited in my life. I feel like this is the most confidence that I’ve had going into a season before,” says Air Academy running back, Jackson Schmadeka.
The change in culture has his playes excited and not just for games, “It’s so much energy. I like playing it because I feel intense and I feel a will to win in practice, says Air Academy safety, Sean Kennedy.
Schmadeka adds, “I mean, I have adrenaline in practice. I’ve never had that before.”
Jackson wants his players to take charge, and they’re doing it, something he learned while coaching in college under Steve Spurrier, “It’s the most player led team that I’ve been a part of, something I’ve learned this year that really helps you build the Brotherhood and really helps you get everybody bought in. Its player led leadership on the team. When I was younger, I didn’t really have leaders. I didn’t look up to anybody that was, you know, above me. And I look up to my coaches as well as my players, even if they’re younger than me,” says Kennedy.
Jackson adds, “When you get tired in football games, it’s hard to struggle when you have that bond like yourself telling you to give up. You don’t want to give up for the next person beside you have to be more than just a football player. You have to make sure you’re developing the person on an iPad under the helmet. You got to make sure that you’re connecting with them and setting them up to be successful in their life.”