The Beginning of the End: A Hoggard Varsity Football Reflection

Our Hoggard football team is known for its amazing, well-rounded players, but also for its wonderful coaching staff, led by Coach Underwood. This is Coach Underwood’s nineteenth year of coaching and his eleventh year as head coach. When asked about this season, he said, “This is one of the top seasons to date. This is a really fun team to coach—they enjoy playing together. We start in February, and they never get tired of it; they just have fun together. Fun is the root of success.” He added that their undefeated regular season, something that hasn’t happened since 2017, shows that success. He has known many of the players from their freshman year to their senior year, so he can watch them grow. He said, “Growth is not only physical, but also shown in their love for their teammates, and that connecting with other players really helps guide them to become leaders.” The Hoggard football team is guided by the coaches but led by its players.

As key leaders of the team graduate this year, the rising seniors have some big shoes to fill. Coach Underwood said, “They have good examples to look back on. They are already excited to make their mark or leave a legacy behind them. We give them an opportunity to have a player-led team, and they can’t wait for that chance next year. They are the tone-setters of the team and are ready to bring more to the table next season.” The Vikings fought hard and almost took it to championships this year, so when asked about improvement, Coach Underwood said, “As a coach, I can always improve—not only to develop better players, but to set an example for them too.” It’s clear that Coach Underwood has a lot of passion for coaching his players, both on and off the field.

A team’s performance is not based only on what happens on the field but also on their connection as a group of brothers. When asked about this aspect of performance, Coach Underwood said, “I hope they can look back and see the relationships made and the lessons learned that will help them have a successful future. I tell them a lot that some of my groomsmen were my teammates. I want them to know that football will always carry a special bond no matter where they end up.” The Hoggard Vikings got one step closer to their number-one goal this year: bringing a championship home. “Our first goal is to win a championship, but we also want to form that brotherhood by reflecting together and becoming a true team.” In the end, we should always be proud of our Hoggard football team and their coaches, no matter the outcome of the season. Their devoted work ethic and strength of working as a unit always makes them winners.