“Fantasy Football” Becomes a Reality

Football has always been a hallmark of the high school experience.  The friday night lights, the palpable school spirit on game day; the joy of victory and the agony of defeat.  All of these are memorable experiences that high school students have cherished for generations.  Until now, our tight-knit community has lacked a football team, and all of the student benefits that it brings.  All of that changes this year, however, as the inaugural ACP Knights football season has already begun.  Today, we look at the mind of Mr. Bickes, and how what was once only a dream now has become a reality.

Q: ACP students, families and teachers have been waiting a long time for a football team.  As the principal, how does it feel to make that dream a reality?

A: This is an exciting time for our school.  As you stated, we have had individuals waiting for this opportunity for quite a long time and it is great to provide another facet to our student body.  It was evident in the year’s past, when Friday nights came during the fall there was something missing from our school – it was tangible.  I felt bad hearing students talk about their friends at other high schools going to the football games and hearing about how much fun they were having supporting their team and hanging out together on a Friday night – not to say that our students didn’t hang out together, but the option of a school event wasn’t available for our Knights.  Now having the opportunity to look forward to having Friday nights where we can cheer on our own high school football team brings a new level of excitement to our school.  Developing a football program was and it continues to be a lot of work, but it definitely has been worth all the time and effort.  I just hope our students and school community take advantage of this opportunity and come as a united body to celebrate the Friday night excitement that a football game brings to our campus.  High school football is much more than a game – it is an event where many organizations and members throughout the campus (e.g. band, cheer,  STUGO, wrestling, etc.) can be involved in the game.  Friday nights are just a wonderful opportunity for students to socialize, have fun, cheer on their school, and just be kids with the knowledge of knowing they have a weekend ahead to prepare for the upcoming school week.

Q: What are your expectations for the Knights’ inaugural season?

A: I would like to see growth throughout the season.  Not just from the football team, but from all organizations involved in organizing these events.  I hold weekly meetings in my office to review and revise upcoming Friday nights (and other events) to improve on what went right and what didn’t go so right.  I hold these same expectations for the coaches, players, advisors, and teachers involved in our inaugural season.  We can only improve if we are all willing to turn the mirror and look at ourselves.  We need to work together to determine what we should celebrate and what we should consider improving upon – then, and only then, will growth really occur – a team effort starting with “you.”

Do I want to win?  Of course I do, who doesn’t?  Heck, I would love for every organization to earn a state championship this year if the opportunity exists.  Chess got us one, and I know they are thirsty for more.  That said, I would love for our football team to earn a state championship, not just to say they are the best in the state, but as an acknowledgment of all the work and effort that the players and coaches have put forth these past several months, to sit back and say, “we did this as a team, a family.”  We just need to set appropriate expectations and build and grow on those expectations to do the absolute best this season – on and off the field; on the team or not.

Q: Which games on the schedule are you looking forward to the most, and why?

A: All of them!  I am excited to cheer on our team.  I typically attend the majority of our home events (athletic and otherwise) throughout the year and I look forward to supporting the football team in the same manner that I try to do for all of our sports and organizations on our campus.  It gets to be a bit more challenging as we get larger, but I will be the first to cheer on our Knights throughout the year.  Of course, the game against Chandler Prep will be fun to watch – we might have to come up with a name for this game.  Maybe we can develop a contest amongst the student body to come up with a name for this game since both of our schools are located on Alma School.

Q: How do you think having a football team affect life on campus (special events, assemblies, etc.)?

A:  I’m hoping adding a football team will be a positive contribution to our campus.  We have so much to be proud of and so many of our organizations have done and continue to do a phenomenal job and I look forward to seeing our football team do the same.