close

Marines make Lions better team & men

Workout reminder for South Fayette

By Eleanor Bailey 5 min read
1 / 6
Staff Sgt. Austin Angress addresses South Fayette High School football players while his fellow Marines Michael Spotts and Mat Orosco listen to the advice he dispenses.
2 / 6
South Fayette High School football players crawl through a human arch created by their teammates during a their workout with the Marines.
3 / 6
Sylas Aitken and Talan Mizenko (left) are among the South Fayette football players encouraging their teammate to complete a set of push-ups during their practice with the Marines.
4 / 6
South Fayette High School football players watch as Austin Angress, Mat Orosco and Michael Spotts demonstrate a Marine drill during a recent practice.
5 / 6
Staff Sgt. Mat Orosco addresses South Fayette High School football players after a recent workout. Orosco, along with fellow officers Austin Angress and Michael Spotts, were invited to lead a practice by head coach Marty Spieler as a way to introduce the players their post-graduate options, such as the service, as well as promote teamwork and other qualities that would help the Lions gel throughout the season.
6 / 6
These Marines: Michael Spotts, Austin Angress and Mat Orosco put the South Fayette football team through its paces during a summer workout to prepare them for the fall football season.

When South Fayette finds itself in a precarious position this football season, perhaps a must-stop at the goal line on defense or must-win game against a conference opponent to make the playoffs, the Lions will recall that hot and humid summer day when the Marines came to practice and led them through their grueling workout.

“Definitely, that’s in the back of our minds when we play,” said Silas Aitken. “Just thinking how far we pushed ourselves that day. What we went through for one practice was their average workout every day.”

Back in late-July, Sgt. Austin Angress, along with fellow Marines Mat Orosco and Michael Spotts, put the Lions through their paces. The workout, which replaced SF’s routine drills, featured calisthenics, runs and team-building skills.

“Everyone seemed to enjoy it,” Angress said. “They love the workout. They love the grind. They love when we put them through this.

“We want them to work together,” he continued. “The moment you start branching out from each other, then you are thinking about yourself and are isolated. We don’t want that at all. The Marines always work together. From day one, you build cohesion and camaraderie. We all suffer in training but you gain that full relationship.”

Although a well-conditioned wrestler, Talan Mizenko admitted he ached, particularly after completing 500 air squats while his group performed wind sprints. “That was challenging,” he admitted. “The workout was like no other. Pushing through it is everything.”

Aitken agreed. He said the workout was as much mental as it was physical. He noted how, during the drills, there were players who accomplished things that they didn’t think they could. In the process they discovered something about themselves that they did not know they had.

“Kids have in their head ‘I can only go so far until it hurts’ and you really don’t know until you have somebody pushing you past that point, telling you that you can go farther. You never know what that is like until you get pushed past your breaking point.”

While some may have grappled with push-ups, others battled different drills. However, all the Lions survived the workout because they remained united.”

“There were times where mentally it got in your head. When things start to hurt, your mind tells you not to go father so you have to push yourself. There were times where I struggled with things,” Mizenko said.

“For me, telling myself, ‘I can. I can do this.’ It lifts me up and allows myself to push through whatever I am doing. Eventually that is what we all did and we encouraged each other to go farther. As a team, that’s important. That’s what we need.”

Aitken and Mizenko both said the team came together during the summer practice. While the chemistry was always there, the workout solidified the group.

According to head coach Marty Spieler, the session served a twofold purpose toward the objectives of the program.

“We are only here to do two things. One, win championships. Win not just to come out and compete,” he said. “No. 2 is once we leave South Fayette, we have a plan to be successful in everything we do.”

So Spieler’s objective was to expose his players to options like the military through the Marine workout and to understand the sacrifice and commitment servicemen make. “It is above and beyond,” he told his players. “What they do for us is immeasurable.”

Spieler also noted the core principles he hoped his players gathered from the training. The Marines and Spieler noted that there will be “stresses” in the lives of the players and that they had “to get over the barriers” by doing their part.

“In the locker room, we are only as good as the worst player on our team. It’s not the same in every situation. So it’s important that you all fought and finished and made your teammates proud,” Spieler said.

“We might need you in the fourth quarter. We might need somebody else in another instance. So we need guys to be prepared to step up whenever we call on you.”

After graduation, some players will be called upon to serve their country. The drills with the Marines introduced them to the Corps. Angers said it’s a different way to engage with the community and teams, get their military name out there and tell about the Marines.

“We don’t just shoot guns. There are jobs for all walks of life,” Spotts said.

“We want our student-athletes to explore all options,” Spieler emphasized.

“How do you know what’s behind the closed door unless you look at the opportunities,” Spotts added.

Mizenko is considering the Marines. He said he might enlist immediately after graduation but he wants to wrestle in college and perhaps pursue a sales degree.

“For me, I would love to wrestle four years in college so ROTC might be an option for me,” he said.

Aitken would consider that route as well. He wants to continue playing football in college while earning a degree in exercise science then working in the fitness industry.

“The thought has crossed my mind. Nothing is set in stone,” he said.

“I have always had respect for the military. I appreciate everything they do for us. Sometimes people take for granted what they do for us every single day. What we went through (in our practice) was their average workout every day.”

Whether during an upcoming game or long into the future, the players will long recall the lessons learned that hot morning in July.

“It taught us skills we will need for the rest of our lives,” Mizenko said. “Even the little things like, ‘yes sir, no sir’ that’s respect and that’s important to have in life. The way they pushed us goes a long way in forming men with strong minds and bodies.”

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $/week.

Subscribe Today