Meet IHSAA football unsung heroes: 'Whatever needs to be done or whatever I’m asked to do'

Meet IHSAA football unsung heroes: ‘Whatever needs to be done or whatever I’m asked to do’

Posted by author November 14, 2024 Football

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Maggie McGowan will never appear on the stat sheet. She won’t score a touchdown, catch a pass or make a tackle for the Bishop Chatard football team.

But ask Chatard coach Rob Doyle to list the individuals most integral to his team’s success and McGowan will certainly show up high on the list. “It’s amazing how much football she knows and how in tune she has been with what we are doing,” Doyle said.

McGowan is one of those unsung heroes every successful program needs. She grew up watching football on television with her dad, playing a game where she would try to guess if the team was going to run or pass. “We always watched sports,” she said. “It was something that was embedded in me, and I got a lot of happiness out of.”

Going into her freshman year at Chatard, McGowan asked Doyle about joining the team as a student manager. She was assigned to the freshman team. After a few weeks of practice, one of the coaches told her to get the team started on drills as practice was about to begin.

“I’m like, ‘OK,’” she said with a laugh. “‘I’m not sure I should be the one doing this. But sure.’”

One of McGowan’s favorite memories from that year with the freshman team was one that almost immediately made her feel like part of the team. After a road game early in the season, the team stopped off at McDonald’s. She packed her own lunch but was struck by how many of the players offered to get her something made her feel at home.

“Then the bees got in the bus going after everybody’s McFlurry,” she said with a laugh. “We had to put up the windows and the whole bus smelled like McDonald’s on the way back.”

McGowan’s responsibilities increased going into her sophomore year as she joined the varsity team. During a practice, she is there to fix equipment, run the clock, have water available. Or whatever else. “It’s hard to describe what I do,” she said. “Whatever needs to be done or whatever I’m asked to do.”

On Friday nights, she has a headset and tracks plays so the coaches can recall what has been called and what has not. If she speaks up on the headset, she said it is just for “an emergency.” If she notices there are only 10 players on the field or if the play clock is about to run out, she will say something. If the quarter is about to run out and the offense does not need to run a play, she might say something.

“I know my place,” she said. “I know not to chime in. But it’s sometimes funny because I’ll hear, ‘Does anybody disagree with this?’ And I’m like (in my head), ‘Hmmm. Maybe we should do that.’ But I don’t say anything.’”

***

Deona Smith is also on a headset Friday nights at Westfield. She can hear the coaches, but she is charge of the 13 student managers. Some are filming. Some are signaling play calls. Some are helping with equipment. There are laundry responsibilities before and after games.

In football terms, Smith is something of the “position coach” for the managers.

“I’m always trying to speak life into them, trying to push them,” Smith said. “Even when they don’t want to do it, you build them up and make them feel like, ‘This is our team.’ We gotta do it.’”

Smith, a mentor at the high school, also has a son on the team. Ja’deon Smith, a junior defensive lineman, has 44 tackles for the season. But in her first year coordinating the managers, she is not just a mom on Friday nights.

“It’s been a challenge, but I love challenges,” she said. “One of the first things we talked about when the season first started was, ‘I know everybody has a job. But let’s just ‘do.’ It doesn’t matter if it’s our job, the job is not done until everybody’s job is done. When we’re here, it’s the whole team. I love all of them.”

Alexa Sucharetza calls Smith “the heart and soul of the football team.” Sucharetza, like Smith, joined the program in the spring. She had worked with football coach Josh Miracle as a psychology teacher in the building and joined the football program as the team’s academic and wellness coach.

Part of her responsibilities are to provide bi-weekly grade checks on the 220 players in the program and collaborate with players and teachers on academic plans when needed. But just as important is the time she spends on mental health checks with the players.

“What I’m most passionate about is the wellness aspect,” Sucharetza said. “If kids aren’t doing well, I’ll pull them in for a one-on-one and we’ll have a sit down conversation. It’s up to them if they want it to be an ongoing conversation or they just needed to get something off their chest.”

Sucharetza said the advantage she has in talking to a player is that she is still somewhat separated from the day-to-day aspect of the team. She does not control playing time, which might allow a player to speak more freely.

“They can share how they are feeling without worrying, ‘Will coach play me the next game because of what I shared?’” Sucharetza said.

The Westfield football program conducts a bi-monthly survey to test depression and anxiety levels. Based on those results, Sucharetza will discreetly set up one-on-one meetings with the kids. She is not a clinical psychologist, a point she makes clear to the kids. If she believes a meeting with a therapist is needed, she will reach out to parents.

But more often, Sucharetza can provide a safe avenue for players to “vent and process through things.” Miracle and former Westfield/current Wabash coach Jake Gilbert had Sucharetza talk at the Indiana Football Coaches Association clinic last year, leading to several other schools reaching out to her about setting up something similar at their schools.

“Is there still a stigma out there for young boys and mental health?” she said. “Yes. But at least now we are changing the conversation. You don’t need to be afraid to reach out if you need help. Some kids need more help than others. But if you have them in the room and they are sharing, I really do think it makes a difference. There is a lot of pressure on kids, especially on an elite team like this. It can manifest itself in a lot of different ways.”

Smith and Sucharetza spend a lot of time with the team, adding another layer of support that might go unnoticed on Friday nights. But not to Miracle and the rest of the staff.

“Both of them are extremely selfless,” Miracle said. “Deona is tireless. She’s doing things just to help out that aren’t even in job title, just looking to help wherever she can. She takes so many things off our plate. Alexa is a great outlet for our kids. She puts in so much time and effort. I think we always knew our job as coaches was to be role models. But I think there’s even more now on the mental side to provide support for kids who need it and being there to help them.”

***

Daniel Shaw, a senior running back for Chatard, said McGowan deserves as much if not more recognition than the players.

“She does the little things that might go unseen,” Shaw said. “She does a lot more than even we know about or acknowledge. She’s so sweet and kind, always looking out for others. Everyone around her likes her and appreciates having her around.”

McGowan believes the Chatard football program helped make her the person she is today. It certainly helped her get back from a tough spot in her life. It was near the end of her sophomore year of high school when she struggled with an eating disorder and had to miss some time from school.

During her treatment, a box was passed around and patients were asked to write down what they were grateful for, write it down and put it in the box.

“Even though it was tough and something very difficult in my life, Chatard football was something that motivated me to get better,” McGowan said. “I was really stubborn about some of the stuff they asked me to do at first, but I just always said, ‘If I eat this, maybe I can get back to football and be part of that again. That was real motivation for me to get better and push through something I wasn’t comfortable doing.”

McGowan has completely recovered and was able to stop seeing her dietitian. She still receives texts from friends she met during treatment who mention the success of the Chatard football team and know how much it means to her.

“That’s why I love sports,” she said. “It’s something so many people like and can relate to. They bring people together and build a community.”

McGowan said she is considering a career as a sports dietitian, though she is still undecided on where she will attend college. She is leaning toward the University of Pittsburgh. But she is hoping the Chatard football team can play a couple more weeks and finish in the Class 4A state finals at Lucas Oil Stadium in two weeks.

“I’m so lucky to be a part of this,” she said. “Each and every one of these people are not only my friends, but people I look up to in many ways or have traits I wish I had. They are my friends, but also people I look up to and admire in my life.”

From the 24 seniors who know what she means to the program, the feeling is beyond mutual.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.