Football has been a focal point at Kennedy High School since its opening in 1967. The position of head coach has been passed on over the years, beginning with Dale Tyron and landing today with Brian White. With the aging of the sport has come the aging of its many traditions. 

A football symbol seen around the Kennedy campus known as “The Stick” is a player favorite and was first introduced in 2015.

“We were two [games won] and seven [games lost] so we were not good,” Varsity Captain and senior Calvin White said. “Then, that year in the spring, our coaches went to a coaches clinic at Kansas State in Manhattan.”

Speaking at this clinic was former Iowa Hawkeye Football Offensive Coordinator Bill Snyder who was head coach at Kansas State at the time. 

“He completely changed their program around,” White said. “Snyder brought in the ‘family stick’ and [Snyder’s Kansas State team] became super good. Our coaches liked it, so they took the stick idea and brought it back here.” 

The year after the stick was introduced to the Cougars, the team went 13-1 and conference champions for the first time since 2007. “The Stick” has represented the ideals of Kennedy Football ever since. 

“During two-a-days, our long practices, are when we learn about the stick and learn about what it represents,” senior Logan Johnson said. “On Friday practice of the last week of [summer two-a-days], everyone has a chance to sign the stick. Nobody has to, but anyone that wants to buy in and commit signs the stick and that’s their word that you can’t quit, you have to believe in the stick and you have to believe in each other.”

“The Stick” is a rectangular wooden block with a metal loop on the top. Written on the surface are the dedications of the Cougar football players. A new stick is made each year. 

The four long sides of the stick serve four different purposes. One displays the year, another the team signatures and a third is inscribed with the word family. Written on the fourth side is the phrase “I believe” followed by the team’s 16 goals of success.

Commitment, unselfishness, unity, improve, be tough, self-discipline, great effort, enthusiasm, eliminate mistakes, never give up, don’t accept losing, no self limitations, expect the win, consistency, leadership, responsibility. 

The stick is paraded around the halls of Kennedy before football games, carried by the committed players. 

“Mostly seniors, sometimes juniors, take turns carrying the stick around, just whoever wants it,” Johnson said. “Coaches have no influence, the players are completely responsible for it.” 

The sticks from years passed are collected and displayed in White’s classroom almost like trophies.

The start of football season forces a whole new team of players into close proximity, meaning team bonding is a must and a symbolic stick is not the only example of it.

“Last year we went to my house, we’d swim in my pool and hang out as a team,” Johnson said. “Every year at the end of camp we have a team softball game.”

Team unification and bonding are not limited to the beginning of the year and continue throughout the football season. 

“We have team dinners a lot before big games to get locked in mentally,” senior Cyrus Courtney said. 

Team dinners aren’t the only way players prepare before a game. 

“We have a chant that we do before a game after Thursday practice,” junior Vincenzo Gianforte said. “It’s called ‘Down By The River.’”

Traditionally the Cougars prepare their minds with a quiet bus ride before games, allowing players to focus and breathe before stepping under the Friday night lights.

Kennedy’s varsity football players are easy to spot in the end-of-week hallway crowds. Days before games are reserved for the black team T-shirts that read “Brothers” in white font. On game days themselves, players wear their jerseys.

For the Kennedy Football Team, a win is not complete until they share it with their supporters. After congratulating their opponents for a game well played, the Cougars gather together and sprint towards the awaiting student section to lead a call and response led by the team. Ever wonder what they were actually saying?

“We got the fight, we on a roll, we can’t slow, we stand tall, we can’t fall, it’s our year, I love it.”