The Wolsey-Wessington Warbirds football season came to a close last week, marking the end of an 0-8 campaign that, while short on wins, was full of lessons in toughness, endurance, and heart.
Head Coach Donavon Smith said that although the season’s record wasn’t what the team had envisioned, there was much to be proud of when looking back on how players handled injuries, challenges, and the steady work of building for the future.
“It’s obviously not what we were originally hoping for,” Smith said, “But in the end, as we look back at what we had to deal with in terms of injuries and challenges, we did good with what we had. As a coaching staff, we’re excited at what the younger kids are showing too.”
That youthful potential was on display throughout the fall, with several eighth-graders seeing significant varsity minutes, an experience Smith says will pay dividends down the road.
“In the long run, it really works out, and the kids really understand that. They’re raring to start trying to get after it again. I had to tell them to take a week off to rest,” he said with a laugh.
For Smith, this season also carried personal meaning. Many of this year’s seniors were among the first groups he ever coached.
“This senior class, I have a lot of respect for them, not only as players but as people,” he said. “My first taste of coaching was coaching these kids in fifth and sixth-grade basketball. It has really come full circle.”
Although injuries sidelined two of the six seniors for most of the season, Smith said the group never wavered in leadership or attitude.
“They were disappointed but understood where we were at,” he said. “These kids stepped it up a lot. They took this season to say, ‘I’m going to take this younger kid at my position and show them the ropes.’ They fought all the way to the end and showed heart.”
That example, Smith said, left a powerful impression on the underclassmen who will carry the torch forward.
“The younger kids saw the seniors this year do everything they could to salvage the season,” he said. “It makes the younger ones amped to go, based on how the older kids showed them the way.”
Even through tough weeks, community support never faltered.
Smith expressed gratitude for parents, fans, and volunteers who continued to show up, feed the team, and lift spirits week after week.
“If a team is having success, you see big crowds,” Smith said. “But through it all, the community and parents have been there all along — the kids never felt their love waver.”