The latest changes in the coaching carousel for Ames High football were the departures of head coach Brian Sauser and numerous other assistant coaches including offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Braden Foster.
Since long-time coach Bruce Vertanen retired following the 2019-20 season with nearly 20 years at the helm, the program has not found someone to hold things down like he did.
The senior group on this season’s team has become the 3rd group of seniors in the past five years to endure a coaching change the summer of their senior year. This year interim head coach Tom Crowden has taken charge.
Two seniors in particular on the team have had to step up and become big-time leaders for this fairly young squad. Colden Bray and Jackson Winkey were incoming freshmen when Sauser took the reigns in the summer of 2021.
Sauser was there for their first snaps in high school football, but now with Sauser out of the picture, he isn’t around for their last. The change has thrown them for a loop but they have been resilient. Both Bray and Winkey have tried to find ways to keep the team solid.
State of the Squad
Pitched against some of the best teams in the state, The Little Cyclones have had a hard start to the season. However, Winkey and Bray have been determined to not let the strength of schedule pull the team down, and have tried their best to remain positive through all the struggle.
“If I were to describe the team in three words, I’d honestly say driven, excited, and cocky,” Jackson Winkey said. Winkey adds that the use of the word “cocky” has to do with factors such as attitudes toward the schedule, change of leadership, and level of play. But, that’s expected with a young and excited team.
Let’s not forget that stress can come with change.
Typically, senior athletes can have a fun and relaxed year with flexible schedules where they can focus on their sport more. The various coaching changes have made it so that hasn’t been the case for Winkey and Bray. Football has become a stressor.
“It’s definitely been stressful, definitely more stressful than last year. It for sure feels like you have a lot more responsibility on your shoulders, just in terms of leading the team and performance on the field,” Bray said.
Because this is the first year for much of the coaching staff, seniors have been pushed to take on new and more demanding leadership roles. “There’s for sure tremendous pressure on the senior group this year. It’s not a lot of experience across the board, so our seniors have been really good about stepping up to lead our younger kids and newer coaches,” Winkey said.
Responsibilities on Full-Throttle
With a newer staff like Ames High’s, players such as Winkey and Bray have had to go out of their way and put in lots of extra time communicating ideas and goals with the coaches. Many players go when their practice is scheduled and leave after the breakdown, but not Winkey or Bray.
“There’s been days where I’ve been here for eight hours at a time just doing [things] for the football team. It gets extensive but it’s worth all of it to be honest. That’s football, it’s a way of life,” Winkey said.
The good thing for the program is Coach Tom Crowden was a linebacker’s coach last season, so he got to know Winkey and several of the other current upperclassmen.
“Jason Roberts and I are probably two of the closest guys with Coach Tom, just ’cause we worked with him all last year. We have a couple of relations through sports outside of football. I think he’s a great guy and if he keeps on being a head coach, I can’t wait to see what he does with the program,” Winkey added.
Winkey and Bray’s message seems clear, the team has a lot of upside.
A Want for Culture
To go from having a 20-year head coach to four different coaches in five years can cause a lot of tension in the program. While players appreciate their coaches, they don’t appreciate their coach changing every other year. Many players such as Bray and Winkey have not shied away from voicing these frustrations.
“I think it’s honestly awful that this is how it’s been. Because every single winning football team has a culture, and the culture starts with the head coach. [Ames High football] had a strong culture and then once everything kept changing that kind of died down,” Bray said.
Despite all of their setbacks and being a smaller 5A school, the two seniors have made sure the team remains committed to a constant underdog mentality.
“We know that they’re gonna come out hitting hard, they’re gonna want to punch us in the mouth. They want to try to take the game to us. So we’ve got to see within ourselves whether we’re going to take that and just let it happen, or if we’re gonna fight back and punch ‘em back,” Bray said. “It isn’t about what they do, it’s about what we do against them. And that’s where [the team motto] us versus us comes from.”
