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Op-Ed: Brett Davis on Magi football

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this opinionated piece are made by former Minot High School running back Brett Davis. He graduated from Minot High in 2018 and is currently a freshman on the Minot State football team. This submitted Letter to the Editor has been edited slightly to correct grammar, conform to AP style and for clarity purposes only.

Mr. Martinez, I have read your article, “Breaking down the collapse of Minot High football,” and although I agree with you on many of the points you made, I would like to add a few things.

First off, I would like to build on the point you made regarding only having two returning starters. This is the first year in a very, very long time that the team has been limited to two returning starters. I really think you have to appreciate the fact that across the board, this entire team lacks chemistry.

The Magi are coming off many years of returning key players, many of which were named All-Conference and All-State and have started or taken major reps for more than just one season. This year, both returning starters have one year under their belt. I will give [Kyler] Stenberg credit, as he got a few reps his sophomore season, but really most of his experience comes from last year as a full-time starter.

It is hard to play with a group of totally new guys who have not previously competed at the varsity level (minus a couple) and [have] experience [with] the bigger playbook and better competition. The varsity level really is a huge adjustment for anyone, but to have this many kids on the team without a rep or any meaningful snaps the previous year really shows when you play a good team.

The West Fargo game was a good win, but as you stated, they are a team going through an extreme loss of talent from the previous year as we are. I give these new Magi credit as they have stuck with it and showed somewhat of an improvement as each game goes on. It is good for this team in the long run to have all these young guys getting reps and experience early on.

Anyways, enough regarding the talent loss and new faces, I would like to get to my main point which is a result of the loss of a large senior group, the main problem in my mind that is leading to this “collapse.”

This can be simply summarized in one word: Culture.

I played for the Magi last year and have had the opportunity to communicate with a lot of my good friends on the team this year, and tried to comprehend what is happening with this team. The immediate theme through every little detail is the culture loss.

Culture, I believe, is the most important aspect of a successful team. It is something that was previously built and is passed on every year and inherited the next. There has been a tremendous loss of culture within this group. It is a direct correlation of the large loss of the senior class.

I will describe it like this for those of you who have no idea where I’m coming from; ever since I was a freshman on the team, every single year there was a core group of guys that carried the tradition and work ethic that this team is built around. The guys that are the vocal leaders and aren’t afraid to help teach a drill or call out a younger guy that is doing the drill wrong and help him.

They hold everyone accountable, which is vital to keep the team together. They address the team on their own and install guidelines for all to follow. They make sure teammates are going to weights in the summer. They go 100 percent in practice every single rep. They attend all camps available to better themselves. Last but not least, they are involved in more than just football and participate in other sports during winter and spring/summer.

These are things that go a long way in the aspects of the mindset of the players, as well as confidence and improves the way the coaches are able to address and coach the team (makes it a lot easier since they don’t have to try and do all this on their own and are able to focus on coaching).

Minot High has a rich history of these type of players (Ben Bolinske, Garrett Larson, Logan Krueger, Brett Lunde, Creighton Rudolph, Logan Bischof, and Garrett Picard; just to name a few that I had the opportunity to play with). Breeding these types of players is something coaches can’t do, this ultimately rests on the shoulders of the individual.

It is their decision and their own work put in that develops this type of player. Put a group of kids like this together, and you have yourself the base of a culture. These guys lead by example and their actions rub off on the entire team. Soon enough everyone will pick up on their actions and develop those same characteristics within themselves as well.

This is something lacking from the 2018 Magi Football team. With all the seniors we had last year, not many younger kids had the opportunity to witness the culture that has been built into the program, based on the sole fact that we just had so many talented upperclassmen that we didn’t necessarily need to call up younger guys to play.

Now that all these guys are gone, there is only 4-5 guys who truly witnessed and were a part of that culture versus around 15-20 who usually return the next year. With that being said, it is hard for those returning guys to enforce and continue to pass on that culture since there is so few of them.

I heard from one of my buddies on the team a couple things that really help grasp this and the differences this year. The team no longer participates in film night (all members of varsity go to a teammates home and have a team meal and go over main points of focus for the game and watch film), which has been a thing every single year dating back a long way.

A record low of football players participating in summer weights this summer and low numbers attending team camp (I cannot confirm this, but it has been mentioned to me), which is abnormal since it always something the older kids harped on and valued every year I played.

These are things beyond the coaches control, and trust me when I say that the Magi have an EXCELLENT coaching staff that I had the pleasure of playing for. The problem does not lie with them, it ultimately lies on the players. I know there is very few older kids on this team that know our previous culture, but that isn’t an excuse not to still take part in it and pass it on.

Re-establishing the culture and tradition of this team is what will fix this team and get the program back on track.

#ROLLMAGI, Brett Davis.

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