The only thing that keeps a series of 250-pound defensive linemen from flattening the quarterback is trust.

Trust that the offensive linemen will protect you. Trust that the left and right guards are looking out for the pass rush. Trust that the center will give you a good snap with enough time to make a play.

Sometimes the grind of drills, practice and games gets in the way of that trust. Each player has their job and there is immense pressure to perform to the highest level. It’s easy to lose your cool and cuss out your fellow teammates when the plays don’t go the way they want.

Varsity player Jaxon Skrentny said that anytime there is a “brotherhood” fights are bound to happen between members. The team fails when the players forget to trust each other and be there for each other, he said.

When the pressure gets to the players “you have to find the motivation to keep going and to help your teammates,” he said.

It’s upsetting to see fellow players fighting because it’s like watching “your brothers fight with each other,” Skrentny said.

“When we go through all the blood, sweat, and tears I consider us brothers and it hurts to see them fight,” he said. Joseph Saxe, the offensive coordinator for the Eagles Football Team, recognized that sometimes players have not had a chance to build enough trust with their teammates so that things don’t boil over when the pressure rises on the field.

Saxe has been instrumental in establishing restorative circles within the football team at several points during the season. The circles allow for players to share personal things in their lives and the challenges they don’t always share with fellow students normally.

“I think it’s helped our guys get a lot closer especially at pivotal points in the season where maybe we lost a few games, and the team can go in two different directions,” Saxe said. “It can spiral down hill or we can take some of the things the we learned from our losses to form a tighter bond to put us in the right direction.”

The circles have included topics like how players sometimes let their teammates down, favorite football memories, and how you let someone important in your life down.

Sophomore Lafayette Turner said one of the topics that was meaningful to him was about forgiveness. He noticed that the players really let their emotions out and the other players seemed to understand.

“When we talk about forgiveness it get’s depressing because it hurts to say these things,” Turner said. “It helps unite the team.” Turner admitted to letting his team down by pouting on the sidelines instead of keeping his head in the game.

Some players were quiet skeptical of the idea of doing a restorative circle and sharing their feelings. However, Isaiah Davilla was impressed with how much the team got out of the process.

“It helps the team get close when we tell each other about ourselves,” he said.

Saxe is hopeful that the circles will improve team morale and create positive feeling among the players.

“They’ve helped a lot of our players and even formed a voice some players that might not actually share,” Saxe said.