Benji Maman staff writer
Despite obstacles resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, senior Max Menache has stepped up as a leader for the football team. Menache fulfills duties like sending players daily reminders through texts and organizing distanced work-outs at public parks in order to be ready for the season, if it comes.
Menache “stepped up” as the team leader by holding team practices with 7-on-7s while maintaining safety precautions. 
“I’ve been keeping everybody in line, making sure they’re mentally sound and making sure we have a positive attitude,” Menache said “I’ve seen the guys a couple times just to make sure they’re okay, we throw the football a little bit, and organize a lot of the events.”
The main factor of Menache’s strong leadership is because he is aware of his role. 
“Honestly, he’s doing an amazing job,” senior Jeremy Shuman, one of his teammates, said. “With what we are given right now, with the whole COVID situation, Max has honestly stepped up like I would have never imagined. He seriously is not forcing people, but he is kind of running the practices, making sure everyone is social distancing, wearing masks, making sure people are getting out there. He’s really taken the captain role into his own hands and he is doing a heck of a job. It is really great to see someone have that much passion for the game of football.”
Team member senior Joe Pascoal said he, too, thinks Menache has been doing a really good job of getting everybody involved by “always looking to improve our team in any way, shape, or form.”
“I think Max has done a phenomenal job at not only being a leader, but also setting an example for us and my teammates. He shows up every day, works hard. You can’t really talk bad about him,” he said. “He has asked to do what the coach has asked us to do. But he’s on us constantly, telling us to do it every single day, so we make sure we don’t slack and get caught behind.”
Shuman has seen Menache’s leadership as a form of motivation for him and his teammates.
“I’m really lazy some days after school. I am just done with school and I don’t want to do anything, and he is always the first person to text me and be like, ‘Hey man, gotta get the reps in after school, you gotta be ready.’ He’s pushed me to be on the field and work out every day, and just do everything we need to do to get ready for our season,” Shuman said. 
Menache’s teammates praise him for how much he loves the game. Not only does he lead the team, but he loves the game he is leading the team in.
“His heart for the game, he loves the game of football. He said, ‘If we don’t have a season, I don’t know what I’m going to have to do, because I want to play so bad,’ so I think him loving the game as much as he does, and how good he is, and just his ability to make plays happen is just such a role that we need on the team,” Shuman said. “He shows kids by his love for the game, how much he loves the game and it makes them like the game even more which is exactly what we need in a captain.”