With his head held high, he walks on onto the field leaving all doubts behind. The heavy load of pads and protection stands far in his way as he begins to get ready for the play. Sophomore Cole Leasure, number ten on the Varsity football team strides into the field with his chin out and his eyes on the crowd.

“This year I learned that confidence is really important,”  Leasure said. “Last year, I didn’t have much confidence and I could tell I wasn’t moving very quick and then this year I was a little more confident and I was moving a lot faster. It just seemed like I was getting used to the speed of the game.”

Leasure developed a passion for football and plans to pursue it after high school.

“I do want to play football in college,” Leasure said. “Preferably UCF, but really anywhere that is willing to have me. I have always wanted to go to UCF, not just for football, and I have always looked up to the players at UCF.”

Although this season did not go as planned, Leasure feels this was a chance for the team to grow and implement these learning lessons into next season.

“I feel like it’s going to be a good year,” Leasure said. “We have a lot of players coming back. This season was kind of a learning season, and if we take what we learned from this season into next season, we will win.”

With many players leaving, the last game of the season was teeming with emotions.

“It’s sad, I’m going to miss all the seniors,” Leasure said. “The seniors always gave me helpful advice, and they were always there for me if I needed something. I wish the season wasn’t over, I wish we could just play all year, but unfortunately we can’t.”

With nine years of experience, football is a way of life to Leasure. From his freshman year on junior varsity to a sophomore on varsity, everything has been a learning experience.

“Last year definitely helped me because, last year, I was able to get used to the flow of the game, and the speed of the game,”Leasure said. ” I think going into this year, already knowing how it would be helped a lot.”