Burnett, Dable and Weaver named 2019 SJ-O Football Captains

By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com

St. Joseph, Ill. – St. Joseph-Ogden High School football captains went through a type of on-the-job training this summer.

As has been the Spartans’ custom for nearly a decade, long-time assistant coach Marshall Schacht coordinates a series of summer team-bonding and team-building activities.

From within the group of SJ-O students interested in playing football, four teams are picked, each with two captains.

The squad member selections are handled with a professional touch.

“Captains have a roster of players who have expressed that they plan to participate in football in the fall,” SJ-O head coach Shawn Skinner said. “Each team has a table and we simulate the ‘draft’ as a mock-up of what the NFL does.

“It’s a great way to introduce the summer workouts, and by having every player assigned to a team, there is a level of accountability to your captains that drafted you and your ‘summer’ teammates.”

Players earn points throughout the summer for attendance at all of the team activities such as weight room, seven-on-seven and Friday morning conditioning. Players also earn a point for gaining weight on their maximum lifts in the bench press, squat, deadlift and power cleans.

“It’s a chance to help broaden the strength and conditioning of the players,” Skinner said, “while at the same time putting them into a competitive situation and stressful situation. We can observe how individual players handle the various situations they are placed in.

“First and foremost, it is an opportunity where the players must lead themselves and work together and support the various members of their teams.”

Though many of the competitions are individual in nature, they also serve to promote the ‘summer’ team as well as the entire football program.

“We all benefit from the involvement as football is truly the most TEAM sport there is,” Skinner said. “Every player realizes they have a value, as the more present they are, the more points they generate for themselves and their summer team. Ultimately, we all get better from the summer competitions.”

One unique aspect is that multi-sport athletes are not penalized by participating in other summer activities.

“Multiple-sport athletes get points for attending camps of other sports that may require them to miss days from our activities,” Skinner said. “For example, basketball players missing a day because they are at a shootout with the SJ-O basketball team still can receive points for their football team by competing elsewhere.

“We WANT and NEED our players to participate in other sports, so we believe it’s important to acknowledge when they participate in those activities.”

Crayton Burnett, Blake Dable and Brayden Weaver are three athletes who will serve as football captains in 2019. They were the top choices in voting done by the team.

The SJ-O coaching staff will select a fourth captain on a weekly basis.

Skinner likes the idea of adding a rotating captain.

“This is a way to acknowledge and reward players throughout the season,” he said. “It could be a player who never misses practices, but may not get as much playing time for a variety of reasons.

“Multiple factors will go into the selection process. Our captains are first and foremost the representatives of our team, school and community. We expect them to be one of the lines of communication between the team and coaches.”

Dable, who didn’t miss any summer workouts, found the off-season activities advantageous in helping to establish leadership qualities.

“We have a draft where we pick our teammates who we believe will give us the best chance to win the summer,” Dable said. “Throughout the summer, we do various challenges every Wednesday that helps whoever wins, to win the summer in total points.

“During these challenges, it is the captains’ job to decide who is best for certain events. The captains have to control their team and show why they were chosen as captains for that summer. During the summer we accomplish three months of basic team bonding where we learn how to connect with each other in the best way possible, which really shows during the season. It also shows everyone who is really committed to the team.”

The Wednesday competitions start at 6 a.m. and last about 90 minutes.

The events range from tire flips to relay races to rope tug of wars to weighted-sled push and pulls to a weighted medicine ball toss to a variety of weightlifting drills.

There is more than pride at stake for the series of summer contests.

“The winning team gets to eat first at our Friday morning team breakfasts,” Skinner said. “We believe this is a valuable part of our off-season program and the players really embrace the opportunities to come together and work.

“It wouldn’t be possible without the time and organization that Coach Schacht puts into the program every summer.”

An additional challenge this summer was participation at an obstacle course that SJ-O graduate Jim Risley has put together at his rural Mahomet home.

Weaver, a repeat football captain, saw tremendous growth and progress throughout the summer.

“Every day in the weight room this summer I would stay well after my own workout was finished to try and help those who were not finished yet with their workout,” Weaver said. “It was important to me that everyone was working out and not simply there to be there.

“This summer has been the best team summer I’ve ever been a part of. The chemistry that this group has, especially the senior class, I think will prove to have a major effect on the outcome of games in the fall. And with all the younger kids falling in and helping the team in their own way, I think the team really has come together well.”

Burnett is the lone junior among the SJ-O trio of captains. He, too, saw positive strides made during the summer.

“We had team competitions on Wednesday mornings and those brought out my leadership qualities a lot by pushing people to be their best and be hard working and leading by example,” Burnett said. “A lot was accomplished this summer.

“We have worked really hard at our seven-on-sevens and in the weight room. There were many leaps forward on maxes.”

Weaver said previous captains were good role models.

“As a freshman and sophomore, everyone looks up to the juniors and seniors and emulates a lot of what they do,” Weaver said. “St. Joseph has a very rich history in every sport, not just football, and taking on the title of captain brings a lot of weight and significance to your name.

“I have learned that when you take the field with ‘Spartans’ on your chest, you have to take the field with the years of experience and success that have proceeded you. As a repeat captain, it is truly an awesome feeling because growing up I always imagined myself calling the coin toss and walking out onto the field first.

“Not a lot of people get to say that they represent a team in this way and I’ve had the privilege of doing it for two years now and I cannot wait to continue to try and bring success to the program with the rest of my team.”

Dable said he will follow the lead set by former team captains.

“I have experienced many different types of leadership,” Dable said. “I have learned that the most successful people in that position have been the ones who constantly motivated their teammates to be better and were always trying to set an ideal expectation for the team.”

Burnett expects the captaincy duties will extend beyond the playing field.

“Some of the roles that I see myself taking would be making sure everything is done the right way on the field, but also making sure everyone is getting in the weight room and doing their schoolwork,” Burnett said. “I have learned a lot from the past captains and listening to them lead and watching them carry themselves, has taught me well.

“It will help me be a vocal leader and a better role model to the younger players in the organization.”

Dable, a two-way lineman, also believes that eyes are on the captains beyond when the games are being played.

“Being a leader also makes me a better person overall because I know that I need to be a good person in order to set an example for the team” Dable said. “As one of the captains, there are many roles and responsibilities that you have to be involved with.

“Some of the most important roles are being someone who your teammates can look up to and being a responsible role model for not only the team, but for the whole community.”

Football is a passion for the Spartan captains.

“Ever since my fourth-grade year when I first started playing football, I’ve not been able to wait for fall to come around and bring another season,” Weaver said. “It is hard to believe that this is the last year I will wear the colors of SJ-O.”

A linebacker, Weaver hopes to play the game beyond high school, but for now is focusing on the nine-game regular-season, which will start at 7 p.m. on Aug. 30 at home against St. Thomas More.

SJ-O is coming off a 5-5 season.

“Team success as of the past few years has not been where we want it,” Weaver said. “And now as a senior captain, the first goal for me is to fight and try and win as many games as we can for the final season I get to play alongside all of my brothers that I’ve gotten the opportunity to play alongside since I was 9.”

In their self-evaluations, the three SJ-O football captains see traits in themselves that will be helpful in their upcoming roles.

“I would describe myself as someone who is very focused,” Dable said. “I would say that I am also someone who is very understanding and easy to talk to. I think one of my best qualities that helped me grow into a leader is not being selfish and always putting the team in front of myself.”

Added Weaver: “I really always go out of my way to be nice to people and see the world through the eyes of others. It is much easier to be nice than it is to be otherwise.

“I really pride myself in my grades and it is very important to me that I can balance my social and sporting life with my academics. I think naturally if you try and help people as much as I do, you tend to mold yourself into a leader position.

“I love being the one that the team looks up to and comes to with any issues or anything that they have because I really love being one of the cogs in the team. I try to help as many people as possible and set an example for the future and current Spartans.”

Burnett, the quarterback, describes himself as someone who “always tries to stay positive and push people to do their best. I would also say that I am hardworking and lead by example. That has helped me become a leader on the football team.

“Being a captain for the football team comes with a lot of responsibility. I am ready to take on the responsibilities of being one of the captains.”

The newly elected captains appreciate the vote of confidence from their peers.

“This year it is very humbling to have received the honor considering this season my teammates and I voted on who they believed should represent the team,” Weaver said. “The trust that my teammates instilled in me and my fellow captains is a big uplift and is very cool.”

Burnet expressed similar feelings.

“It means a lot to me to have my teammates respect me and vote for me to be one of the captains on the football team,” he said.

SJ-O will play five of its first eight games at home this year. In two of their road trips, the Spartans won’t leave Champaign County, traveling to Rantoul and to Unity, in Tolono.