Marine sergeant leads Bears through team-building, rigorous practice

Tellico Plains football has focused on building the Bears’ unit as one this June.

And to help usher that commodity through was Sgt. Jayden Stuessel — the U.S. Marine Corps representative for Blount and Monroe counties — who led the team through a series of drills at June 4’s practice.

Stuessel spoke to the Bears about the importance of holding together and making sure each member of the team is included and contributing.

“We wanted to work on team building and fighting through adversity,” Tellico Plains coach Bobby White said. “I think it was good for the guys from a team-building perspective.”

The attitudes have not just been focused since the start of the spring on unity. After going 1-9 in 2023, a Bears program that returns a solid core of the roster has been keen on turning things around since last November.

“The tighter the team you are the more you are less likely to give up during the season or during a game. You are afraid of letting your brother down beside you,” White added. “If you can get tight as a team and understand what a team truly is, it is like what Stuessel said: ‘If they mess up and do not work as a team it could cost someone their life.’

“You have to work well as a team and not let one another down. That is what we are really wanting to work on this summer.

“And I will say, this is probably the tightest team I have had in 15 years. This senior class … they are a special group.”

A constant key in that brotherhood amongst the group is rising senior Ryan Shaffer. Shaffer did not see the field in 2023 after an injury sidelined him in the preseason.

That did not stop him from attending practices throughout the summer and doing his best to contribute from a different perspective.

“That is what the winning teams do; that is what winning cultures are. They are one team, one mind, one body and play for each other. I feel like that is what we are doing,” Shaffer said. “It was amazing to see after last season that, as soon as the season was over, we started changing and becoming the team we knew we could be.

“It is really showing now and it is going to continue to show.”

The team started with pushups and burpees to go along with sprints and other body workouts but also carried over into moving tires and dragging teammates across the field.

“The whole team, we just absolutely crushed it. I am very proud of the way that we practiced and the effort we gave,” Shaffer said.

Shaffer paired with Chance Shapiro — the returning All-County Player of the Year — dragging him by his arms across the field.

“They responded really well. (Stuessel) was impressed with the guys and what they were able to accomplish through it,” White added. “He has done some other teams in the past and they stacked up pretty well from what he has said.”

The team was broken into smaller groups throughout the practice, having to find different ways strategically to handle some of the drills given to them.

“You saw leaders kind of step up and develop, so that was good for us,” White said. “Overall, it was the intensity that they have had that was great.”

Amongst those that stood out was the senior class from Tellico Plains — one that features Shaffer, Shapiro, Omar Miller, Braden Reed and many others.

“That whole senior class — I could not ask for a better senior class right now. These guys have really taken it from day 1,” White said. “They have taken this season to the heart. They have stepped up and led in the weight room and led in the agility drills.

“Even in the classroom, they have led. They have done a good job of making everyone feel important and getting on them when they do something that doesn’t look good on the football program.

“They have matured and are holding each other accountable and that is what we want.”

The Bears’ summer has been spent focusing on getting stronger and in shape ahead of the team’s annual lift-a-thon.

“Getting tighter as a team and getting in shape. We are a lot bigger and stronger than we were last year,” White added. “I think this is a smart football team. I think this bunch is going to surprise a bunch of people this year.

“They took their licks last year as young guys and now they are ready to fight back, so I am really proud of them for that.”

The Bears have a 7-on-7 scheduled for June 18 with McMinn County and the lift-a-thon on June 20.