Coach’s Outlook for 2025 Season

Each year when the calendar turns to August with football season right around the corner, my excitement for the new team increases and hope that all our off-season preparations will lead our team to success on the field. To stand on the sidelines and coach such an outstanding group of young men who work so hard; to have the support from an amazing administration, community of teachers, the best student body around, and a group of parents who cheer so loudly on Friday night for everyone on the team, makes me proud to be part of Summit High School. Summit Football is more than wins and losses, it is a family that teaches character, hard work, integrity, and loyalty. Our motto for Summit Football is “One Way, The Right Way, Community, Classroom and Field.” Our coaches and players hold that standard extremely high. We hope that our players look back on their experience playing football 10, 20 or 30 years from now and will be able to say the experience they had playing football made them the person they are.

This year’s team could compete for the State title if we stay focused on each week’s opponent, strive to improve each day and stay healthy while once again playing one of the toughest schedules in the State. This 2025 team is one of deepest and most talented teams in school history. We are blessed with size, speed, talent but most importantly hard-working players who have a special bond.

We are led by a very talented senior group of 19 players who have made a commitment to be the best they can be, have fun and represent the Summit community to their fullest. They realize that they can’t do it alone so they have encouraged and pushed the underclassmen to match their enthusiasm for this upcoming season.

In our program we talk about finding “Your Role” and how will you impact this team. Not everyone can be a starter or a backup, but every role is important and celebrated. Some of our most important players are guys that never get highlighted on tv or interviewed for an article but make major contributions on special teams or during practice playing scout team.

Our goals don’t change from season to season. The key every year is to be the “City Champs.” With three other teams in Bend who are well coached and talented, we feel that if we can win the City this will set us up for a league championship. If you win the league title you host a first-round play-off game in November in the High Desert, which can be a challenge for a team from the Valley. To travel over the mountain and play at 4,000 feet in elevation with temperatures and conditions they might not see all winter, is not an easy feat. Every high school coach and player’s ultimate goal is to practice on Thanksgiving Day. When you have accomplished that, you have had a remarkably successful season.

I want to thank all of our coaches for their dedication to being outstanding coaches and mentors to our players. I also would like to thank Summit’s Principal Donna Servignat for her enthusiasm for, and encouragement of, the program and our new Athletic Director Quinn McAndrews and Athletic Assistant Karen Caylor for all of their support in running a successful program.

Most importantly, I could not do my job without the incredible support from my wife, Kristal. Kristal has taken on the role of Director of Football Operations the past couple of seasons and has improved many aspects of our program. I once heard a well-known football coach say that the most important person in a football program is the wife of the Head Coach. They do so much that goes unrecognized but if not done it would be noticed. Kristal lives for the success of our players and she can be found in her little corner of the Storm stadium every Friday night.

GO STORM!