Capital City competing to build on program’s best season
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Capital City Football is preparing to enter the 2024 campaign, following the program's most successful season. In 2023, the Cavaliers posted eight wins, their highest total in a single season, and reached a district championship game for the first time in its short history. Now, in year four under head coach Joe Collier, the program is working to maintain that trend by focusing on winning every play.
"We just want to be competitive. We're trying to do the right thing every play, just refocus and put a string of those together. We understand that to beat teams, it's who can do the right things over and over again, so we're just focusing on that," Collier said. "We don't think about what's the next best thing. Our goal is always to win a state championship, but we understand that each game, we have to do our job."
For any team to fulfill state title aspirations, building the right culture is vital. Collier has strived to instill a championship mindset into his group, not just on the gridiron but also off the field. He says his program has really bought-in to that culture, and it will help drive them to success in 2024.
"We always talk about being champions. Just being champions in the community, being champions in the classroom and being champions on the field. We feel like when you aspire to do those things, everything can work out for you," Collier said. "That puts you in the mindset of wanting to take pride in what you do, and so, I think just being that way and creating that culture of champions makes us special."
When Collier first took over the Capital City program in 2021, this year's seniors were freshmen. Now, with two straight seasons of seven or more wins and plenty of valuable in-game experience, the upperclassmen of the Cavaliers are stepping up as key leaders of the team, setting the standard for what it means to believe in the program's culture.
"It's just really a veteran-like atmosphere. Guys have been around football for a minute now, and so, those guys are the leaders. They're modeling everything, and they're the ones that control the climate and culture, too. They have to buy-in, and I think we're getting a lot of buy-in because those guys have been around and we're creating a culture," Collier said.
Collier's crew kicks off the 2024 season at home with a matchup against Carl Junction. That game is scheduled for Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
