Every once in a while, All Star Video Sports will be able to create a video for a very special player, group of players, or team. This past football season, that team was the Bishop Miege Stags football program out of Roeland Park, Kansas.

We get to work with young men and women that ooze with great character. Character that is defined by a great work ethic, positive attitude, a passion for a sport, a love for his or her teammates, and a relentless drive to become a champion. Often, we find players and individuals that have many of these amazing qualities, and we see the fruits of their labor in whatever they set their mind to. The Bishop Miege football team had this brand of character. Miege-run-2

       “Character is a huge part of a good football team. Football is an emotional game full of ups and downs. You have to be able to handle the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. If you surround yourself around good players and coaches you will be able to work your way through any adversity faced during the season.” – Head Coach Jon Holmes

vacastill3We were able to follow and shoot HD video highlights for this team throughout the 2015 season, from the first day of pre-season bootcamp to the final snap in the 4A D1 State Title game (which they won). From day one, some of my colleagues and I recognized what a tight knit group this was, especially with this particular class of seniors. The team had won the state title the year previous, and from the beginning of the season, they believed they could do it again. 

“This team knew how to win. Having most of these players experience our 2014 undefeated season was the next best thing to happen to our program. The players wanted to maintain that high level of play & wanted to continue with the great tradition of Miege football. Having a great group of returning players and also some first time Varsity guys step up really helped us to compete at the level we expected.”  – Coach Holmes

It was this belief in themselves and each other that ultimately made them champions, but I also believe the relationships with their teammates and coaching staff was just as important in getting them to that point. Out of 8 games we shot video of them during the season, I picked up on some things that they always excelled at:

  1. They always picked each other up, whenever a teammate did something good or bad
  2. Received encouragement from the coaching staff
  3. Believed in the direction/play calling of the coaches
  4. Trusted their players would make plays
  5. Never quit in the face of adversity
  6. Cared about the well-being of the team over themselves

Sometimes we think these qualities above always happen with every great team or program out there, but very rarely had I personally seen a program do all of these things above average. I believe these exceptional qualities helped them make it through trophystill2the regular season only to lose one game, win every single playoff game, and then win the State Championship game by a very large margin. Under the surface though, the reason for these excellent qualities in the players seemed to stem from their relationships with each other:

       “This was a team that hung out with each other away from the field. That showed up on the field. All the guys liked to be around each other and always made the most out of our time together. It is always fun to see the group at summer team camp. We knew then this group was going to be an easy group to coach because of how much fun they had around each other.” – Coach Holmes

By the time the State Championship Game was underway, I began to look back at how this team accomplished what they did, and what a great run it had been for the young men and coaching staff on the team. Getting to watch this team game in and game out through the camera, I began to realize this kind of comradery and bond between athletes does not happen very often. Among all of the things this team accomplished over the season, they definitely showed they were something special.

SENIOR PIC