Team Within the Team: Football captains create the head space

By Tuesday’s football practice, emotions had subsided over Glenbard North’s first victory since 2022.

For the Panthers’ five senior team captains, the accomplishment remained. And the work ahead.

“It feels great,” linebacker Dylan Hendee, a two-year team captain, said of Friday’s 17-0 victory over Bartlett.

“Haven’t won a game in a year, so it feels really good,” he said. “But can’t get too comfortable, got to keep working. Go 2-0.”

The Panthers’ captains — Hendee, Dylan Bradford, Ben Princis, Jaysek Thompson and Sterling Williams — are liaisons between the coaching staff and the varsity roster.

They keep things tight and keep things loose. Their teammates selected them for the job.

“We went through a voting process throughout the team, and I’ve just been trying my best to lead the team in the right area, get us all in the right head space. And I believe we’re getting there,” said Thompson, a 225-pound defensive end.

Head space?

“Just being focused in practice and bringing the right intensity every day,” Thompson said.

Princis, Glenbard North’s quarterback, takes the captain position to heart.

“It feels good to know that people are looking up to you,” he said. “They look to you for answers and it feels good that the coaches have people to be, like, mini-coaches to the team, make sure everyone’s on task. I think it means a lot to have a good leadership group.”

Princis and his co-captains believe that was a difference between this year’s 1-0 start and last year’s 0-9 season. Intensity and cohesiveness weren’t there.

“It was tough,” Hendee said.

“Practice is very competitive now,” he said. “Everybody gets excited whenever someone makes plays. It’s just the hard work, and we’re all together as a team this year. We go on team bonding a bunch, way different from last year.”

When football players bond, food is an essential ingredient.

“We usually go to Ben’s house, or something like that, eat,” said Williams, a 6-foot-3 cornerback whose interception last week contributed to the opening win.

“We go to anyone’s house, like for example we’ll go to Teddy’s house (lineman Teddy Dost) or we go in the pool, something like that. It definitely helps a lot. It brings us closer, definitely.”

Glenbard North coach Ryan Wilkens is a stickler for leaving a clean footprint, and these captains are his deputies. It may seem trivial, but a clean locker room or sideline equals discipline.

“For the main part we’re in charge of the character of the team, making sure everyone’s on the right track, making sure everyone has the mindset of winning. Instead of just being ‘Me,’ it’s ‘We.’ That’s probably our most important job as captains,” Bradford said.

Starting in the summer, the 290-pound offensive guard and tackle said he organized Panthers linemen to run through plays or just enjoy down time. If necessary, Bradford will pick them up and take them home.

“An extra five-minute drive to win football games, that’s my mindset. I just want to win,” he said.

Everyone does. Creating the right example for underclassmen, win or lose, is one of Hendee’s goals as team captain.

“I feel like it’s very important for us to set a path for them to look forward to go on, and hopefully they follow it,” he said. “We’re just trying our best to make sure it’s the right one.”