“D-up, D-up, D-up, D-up.”
That’s just one of many chants that the average student will hear echoing from the sidelines during a Crimson Storm football game. With 166 players on the roster, the unified roar of the team carries serious weight.
Head football coach Dustin Hada explained that of the energy: “There is a big correlation between the amount of energy and the effort with which guys play.”
High energy, he said, plays a crucial role in the mental game. Staying united on the sideline gives strength to the men on the field. Offensive lineman Spruiell broke it down: “If you get louder than the offense, they can’t communicate. In that way, it gives us a better opportunity to make a play.”
Wide receiver Wyatt Brown agreed: “Just anything loud, anything where everyone is involved with on the sideline.”
Together, Brown and Spuriell emphasized that noise and unity drive momentum. The formula is simple: high energy equals high success.
That dynamic was evident on Aug. 23rd, during the first scrimmage of the season, when the team fed off its own sideline energy and excelled–even against each other.
However, the brotherhood extends beyond chants. Slot receiver, Karomo Collins, puts it in this way: “Not even just on the field but off the field–every time we see somebody from the football team, we’re always going to acknowledge them. It’s a real brotherhood, a real family here.”
Football is as much a mental sport as a physical one. Encouragement and connection, whether in games, practices, or everyday life, are the foundation of the Crimson Storm’s success.
Photo by: Austyn Knight