The Nathanael Greene Academy (NGA) eight-man football team doesn’t have many players, but the few it does have to enjoy the grind.
Among those players is junior quarterback Mason Bear, who has been on the Patriots’ roster for the past three years. Bear has been able to watch the growth of a football program that previously had been on again, off again.
“My freshman year, we didn’t have a team, so the last couple of years have been rebuilding years,” Bear said. “Last year, we didn’t have quite the season we wanted, so maybe this year can be the rebuilding of Nathanael Greene football.”
Bear has really stepped into his role as a leader on this Patriots team. He believes it’s all about consistency and keeping his teammates going, even when the going gets tough.
“I just try to keep everybody motivated, because it’s football,” Bear said. “Things can get hard, or you might have a bad day, but as a leader, I try to keep everybody pushing forward and to keep getting guys out there. If everyone wants to be out there and get better, it’s a lot easier to lead. I’ve seen guys look like they didn’t want to be out there. You could tell when it came time to play on the field.”
In terms of his leadership style, NGA head coach Doug Brown described Bear as “a doer.”
“I don’t ever consider him to be the one that’s going to give the rally cry. He’s not going to pull an ‘Erk Russell’ and scream in your face, but as a quarterback and a person, Mason Bear is a hard worker, and he’s going to be a constant on our football team,” Brown said.
When asked about the team’s strengths, Bear listed off multiple teammates who will have a great impact on whatever success the Patriots enjoy this season.
“We have a couple of new kids in my class. Nathan Schuman, Jay Holt and Tucker York are going to be good for us,” Bear said. “Jay and Tucker are two of our biggest linemen, and Tucker wasn’t able to play all of last year due to an injury, but I believe he’s worked hard during the offseason. We all have. I think there’s a lot of talent [on this roster].”
At the end of the day, Bear just wants to keep the NGA team’s morale as high as it is right now and carry it through to the end of the season.