The Verrado Vipers Girls’ Flag Football team has made a statement in the past few weeks. After starting out the season with a record of 2-4, the Lady Vipers have shown resilience and toughness, winning their last six games by only allowing 10 points on defense while accumulating nearly two hundred points on offense.

The Viper Times reached out to players and coaches to talk about their current position, how they prepare for a game, and how they make adjustments mid-game. Both coaches Andra Rogers and Terry Barnes have responded.

Barnes says that for pre-game planning, they will establish signals and code words for different plays and strategies to ensure that people know their roles. During the game, they will call out plays/defensive assignments to keep the team informed, and in case they can’t hear what’s being said, the team will utilize eye contact and gestures to communicate quickly. Then after each play, the team will discuss what worked and what didn’t work to adjust their strategy further.

Simply put, there’s a lot that goes into preparing for the games and what happens before the game to after the game both mentally and physically for the Vipers. And there’s one word that is being preached by coach Rogers. Toughness.

Leadership from the quarterback and key players is a crucial part of team success as they can be tone-setters and help the team be able to “lock in” while also instilling confidence within the team. Some strategies they imply are visualizing success, staying calm under pressure with breathing techniques, and setting goals that are either personal or for the team.

When approached about how the Vipers maintain communication on the field, and how they perform under pressure junior running back Nevaeh Romero said:

My teammates and I maintain good communication on the field by always sharing what we think can and will help us win and giving different points of view on what we see about the other team while playing. The leadership on the field helps us players pull through stressful moments by knowing no matter what happens during or after the game, our teammates will be there to back up one another.

Good communication with teammates is key to success with championship-contending teams like the Vipers especially when it’s coming from the captains of the team like Nevaeh Romero and Allison Rospierski.

“If we can be tough in our responses when bad things happen and when good things happen, it shows the resilience that we have as a team, and I think toughness is the thing that’s gonna get us to the championship and ultimately win the championship,” Rogers explained.

We’ve seen the Vipers show toughness during their games. By not giving up on plays and going after the ball. It’s how they’ve maintained this incredible six-game winning streak in the first place.