Being a fan of the Ipswich Tigers, you see that we have heart. Over the past several years, the Ipswich Football Team hasn’t had a winning season. However after a new coach was hired this year, Ipswich made it to the playoffs for the first time in nine years. Having 48 committed players a part of the program, it is clear that playing with heart and hard work is what got them there. They gained more fans than they have in the past and won more important games than they had in a long time.                             

This season, the three senior captains were Jake Long, Josh Brown, and Alex Morris. After interviewing Alex, his input was, “Having a new coach this year really helped take us to the playoffs. We have done much better this year with him and I’m sure it’ll stay that way for years to come.” It seems to be that the coach you have for a team is a very important factor to how well you do and what your outcome is for the season. Alex was a good person to interview because he is a role model to the team. Players look up to him and look forward to filling his shoes next year.                 

What comes with every football team? That’s right: a cheerleading team. The cheerleaders are the football players biggest support team and have been there every game with them. Being a senior varsity captain of the cheer squad, Jill Cox has been with the football team for four years. Jill explains, “Being on the sideline of every game and seeing the improvement from the past few years to this year is amazing. You can see the hard work and talent they have gained this year.” When Jill was asked if she was excited to move on to the playoffs game with the football team she replied, “It’s been really fun to see how far they’ve come this year, and I’m excited to cheer for them at their first playoff game ever.” Even though the football team ended up losing their first playoff game, it’s the heart and excitement of being there that counts.

The most important trait a team could have is heart. The Ipswich Tigers showed this love in all of their football games and that is what pushed them to make the playoffs. The seniors can leave this year being proud of what they have accomplished and the underclassman can leave this year being excited for what’s to come next year.