rewrite history and create footsteps for a better future. Head Coach, Eric Addy, is the key to leading the program in the right direction. Addy is the first coach in recent years that has won 4 games this season. During my time at North High, I had two different coaches: Keith Hanks during my Sophomore year and Sean Quinlan for my junior and Senior years. Addy served as an Assistant Coach during this time. He was determined and diligent in motivating the athletes. He believes in this concept of “Burn the Ship”. The story goes: A captain and his sailor were stranded on an island. They want to give up, but the captain orders his crew to burn the whole ship because there is a ship on the other side of the island where enemies are located; this encourages a determination to fight and win, instead of giving up. Coach Addy never forgot where he came from and what the North High community meant to him. He has worked and learned from previous coaches, so in 2020, he became the head coach for the football program. Because of his boldness and trust in the players, the team was boosted to another level of success. This year was an example of their recent success– they outperformed their opponents and scored high, beating Waterloo, East, Lincoln, and Hoover. But the big game was a longtime rival that holds a continuous rivalry: East High. On the 120th meeting, and for the first time ever, they finally beat their town neighbors with a score of 46 to 14. This was a big shock to the community, including myself, while others predicted it would happen because of their progression since 2020. Former North High star football player Deavin Hilson, a 6’1, 200lb pound linebacker and running back, received a full-ride scholarship to the University of Iowa with only a few games and a scrimmage. He was the first in a long time that received that kind of opportunity from the University of Iowa. These kinds of opportunities help create motivation from all athletes in all sports and help to create a new mindset–to believe that they, too, can be successful and go to college. Coach Addy believes in his players, and they do the same. It is important to move forward and become “better than you were yesterday.” Three of his star athletes are the reason he had successful wins this season. #1 Zack Seckee, #51 Kevin Quayee, and #3 Aron Gonkaryon helped take their team to 4-1 to begin the season. The Polar Bears prove to everyone, including themselves, that practice makes improvement, not necessarily perfection. They don’t look back toward the past, but instead, show up and do better the next day. These successes are being passed down to
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