Having twin brother head coaches only makes sense for a team to feel like a family. This is what brothers Mark Carter and Marcus Carter are doing at South Mountain High School. 

Going into their fourth season as co-head coaches the team not only has improved their record but has turned into a family. “They’re not just football players to us. These parents are trusting us to mold and to shape their most prized possession and we take that very very very seriously,” said Mark Carter. “We tell them we love them all the time, we hug them all the time.”

The players have also feel the love. Senior Devontae Ingram similarly compared the team to a family as well. “I feel like we are more like family than teammates,” said the returning player.

Ingram is a senior and has been playing on varsity the past three seasons. This season the team is heavy on underclassmen and Ingram has found himself in a leadership position. “It’s a learning experience, you learn something new every day,” said Ingram. “Your teammates help you become a better leader. Whether it’s a bad experience or a good experience I’m just learning different ways to motivate people so it’s good.”

So far into the season South Mountain has a record of 1-2 with a tough loss the previous week to Paradise Valley. The team is not hanging their heads about the loss, “As long as we keep learning and getting better we’re okay with that,” said the co-head coach. “You can’t win every game, you’re not going to get every job, you’re not going to get every position you apply for, it’s how you bounce back and get yourself together.”           

The since the Carter twins have been at South Mountain they have introduced the motto “Change The Culture,” and the players love it.

Junior Ricardo Lugo said, “when I came everybody was with it.  They wanted to change the culture, and they wanted to make a difference. So that’s what they did and it’s outrageous.”

The Carters have both changed the culture and the team’s record. Since the new head coaches the team’s record has improved exponentially going from 1-10, 5-5, 6-4 and this season they are looking for a spot in the playoffs.

However, the team is still only taking one week at a time. “Our goal is to go 1-0 every week. After a win, after a loss they get 24 hours. Once the 24 is done it’s on to the next week let’s go 1-0 that week that’s our motto,” said Mark Carter.  

The Jaguars have several mottos and words to live by this season and one of those is ‘playoffs.’ Lugo said, “we want to win the region and we want to make playoffs also. Playoffs are the big word of the whole season.”

Senior veteran Ingram looks to improve himself by “growing into a man” and “perfecting my craft, not taking days off, and keep grinding.”

The team will keep grinding and visit Maricopa High School on Friday, September 13.