They say football games are won in the trenches, so few positions on the field are under as much pressure on any given Friday (or Saturday, or Sunday) as those on the offensive line. As the guys who set the tone for the entire unit, you need leaders on the o-line.
For Strawberry Crest, senior Ben Gude is one of those leaders the team’s depending on for a steady presence as it gets through 2019. Gude, who’s entering his second season with the Chargers, wants to set an example for the younger Chargers on and off the field. He knows that equally as important to success as hard work is support, whether it’s in the form of tough love or straight-up encouragement, so he tries to strike a balance between the two.
“It’s being able to lead other people, obviously, and encourage them. Being able to pick them up when they’re down,” Gude said. “Being able to push them like no one else can.
He also hopes his teammates will take a page from his book in the classroom. One of his proudest accomplishments was not hitting someone on the field, but hitting the books off of it. He came to Crest two years ago with a GPA around 2.5 and built it up to about a 3.1.
“You can’t play football if you don’t have the grades,” Gude said. “I kind of struggled with that my first two years. But I picked it up greatly.”
Though the difference between Plant City and Strawberry Crest has been pretty vast on the football field, Gude’s been able to draw positives from his time with the Chargers even when the wins haven’t always come.
“It makes you learn to love the game a lot more,” Gude said. “It’s not all about wins and losses. It’s more about being with your teammates and building a bond. It was hard because, my whole football career, I wasn’t used to losing that many football games. But it makes you view the game so different. It’s not about going out there and winning on Friday night, it’s about going out there and fighting with your brothers on Friday night.”
With a head coaching switch so late in the offseason, Gude and other veterans of the program have been asked to help make the transition easier both for Prior and for their younger teammates. Gude was quick to answer the call. And when he’s out there, everyone knows.
“I like yelling,” he said. “That’s kind of my thing. I get underneath them. I try to bring a lot of hype to them. That’s what I try to do.”