Eagle Era

By Kaitlyn Liu

The sound of the referee’s high-pitched whistle tears through the stadium, cheers erupt from the stands shaking entire sections of bleachers, and players huddle together giving chest bumps under the blinding lights. 42-0 for AHS: a kickstart to a promising season.

On August 29th, the AHS football team competed against a neighboring school in the league, James Lick HS, marking the first game of the 2025-2026 season. During those 60 minutes, a 37-yard touchdown pass was thrown to Jordan Garcia, a 54-yard touchdown was scored by Jayden Martinez, and another impressive 31-yard pass was thrown by quarterback Marvin Boone. 

Was it a change in training? The coaches? The preseason? What really happened behind the scenes, off the field?  Following their decisive victory, Dante Arbee (12), the AHS center and guard, recalled that the team maintained dominance throughout the entire game. “We were really good at being physical and knowing our plays and positions, doing what we were supposed to be doing, making sure we laid our hits and contained.” 

Since the start of the season, varsity’s overall record is 2-1, clinching a tight victory against Saint Mary’s. Lucas Tung (10), a player on JV, described what the recent success meant to him, saying, “It feels good because it brings up the motivation to win.”

Prior to becoming head coach of the football team in February of 2024, Coach Sass was already familiar with the coaching process, being a coach to lower divisions. Having attended AHS as a student himself, Coach Sass saw this as an opportunity to allow him to bring the football program back to how it was when he was a player. Coach Sass attributed the team’s success to offseason training, revealing, “We [maintained] the weight room through the whole off-season and into the current season. In the past, we stopped doing weight room once the season started.”

Caption: The football team during a game against Kennedy HS, as players walk onto the field shortly after halftime (Photo Credit: Suhani Thakkar (11)).

To Arbee, the new conditioning and training schedule benefitted him greatly. He stated, “I feel like it really conditioned my body to do everything at 100% and not have to take a break.” The general consensus throughout the varsity team is that the changes in conditioning and weight room significantly aided in the development of players.

Honing in on the specifics of certain drills, Coach Sass revealed that in previous years, mobility wasn’t a major focus. “It was more just general stretching, and then we would just go lift. Now, we have drills that are specific around building explosiveness and improving their mobility; they have strength through a range of motion, and it helps to reduce the injuries,” he said.

Besides doing more sprints and physical strength training, a major aspect was improving mental toughness and coach involvement. Tung explained his progression in terms of his technique, attributing it to coach advice and plays. “Coach Sass helps us get better at drilling, and we learn to perfect our strat,” he said. 

One of the major goals and personal philosophies Coach Sass stands by is that mentality is a crucial factor for success. “It’s really been about reinforcing them to believe in themselves, to work hard, and to finish. They don’t get close and then back off; they push themselves even when they’re tired and even when they don’t feel like doing the work,” he said. His encouragement and constant push for his players to strive for the best allows them to overcome challenges, defeat competitive schools, and improve both the physical and mental aspects of their game.

The football team’s great start and early success outshadows last year’s record through mental grit and physical conditioning. Here’s to hoping that the rest of the season follows through with AHS’s current successes.