Shadle senior takes role to heart
Shadle Park senior Andrew McCanna is definitely not a young man who will shy away from the responsibilities of leadership. In fact, he relishes the opportunities that come with the role, both on and off the football field.
“I try to be one of the biggest team leaders,” said the three-year starter. “I want the players to be confident that I’ll come through, so I try to pick everyone up and make sure they’re all doing their job.
“I think that leadership comes naturally to me, but as a sophomore I wasn’t much of a leader. I kind of grew into it as an athlete, but I feel like I’ve been a leader on the field and in the classroom all my life.”
The Highlanders have lost their first two games this season, but showed great improvement last week against University. After losing their opener 56-3 to Mead, they led the Titans until late in the fourth quarter, finally falling 14-13 to U-High.
“I was very optimistic going into the University game,” McCanna said. “You really can’t compare how ready we were before those two games. It was disappointing to give up that long drive at the end, but it taught us that we need to finish hard and be in better shape than the other team.”
Shadle coach Mark Hester is trying a new approach to team leadership this season, with coaches and players selecting new captains every week, usually from among a core of eight seniors. McCanna was selected as a captain each of the first two weeks.
“Andrew’s a great kid,” said Hester. “He’s an inspirational leader, a guy who’s not huge but has a huge heart. He’s not afraid to talk to the guys, but he’s also really good at not pointing fingers and keeping us moving in a positive direction.
“After that first game, Andrew didn’t let the kids get down at all. He stressed that we need to keep moving forward and getting better. A loss like that didn’t change his attitude at all. He didn’t really miss a beat – certainly he was disappointed, but he always wants to improve.”
McCanna likes the system of rotating captains, even if it means there may be a week when he doesn’t serve in that role.
“Every week, different people shine,” he said, “and with this system nobody can take anything for granted. Against University, in fact, one of our captains was a junior. It’s whomever the team feels played the best. I think it’s a good idea, because it gives some of our younger players a shot at a leadership role.”
McCanna, who starts at strong safety, has also been a varsity baseball starter since his sophomore year, and hopes to have the opportunity to play on in one sport or the other after he graduates next spring. He has a 3.89 GPA and loves the challenge in the classroom almost as much as on the field.
“I try to set a good example in everything I do,” he concluded. “I try to show that when you’re starting, you have to work just as hard as everybody else. We’ve got a good group of team leaders this season, and we really play well together. Our leadership comes from the heart.”