GQ Sports presents a film by Charles Frank and Fritz Bitsoie, ‘Through the Storm.’ Despite dwindling interest and a two-decade-long losing record, a determined coach and group of young athletes fight to keep their football program alive.
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00:00Hey Woos, he's asking how does it feel when you get your pads on and get out there since
00:12you guys haven't won a game in a while.
00:16He's asking how does it feel to go play a football game when you guys haven't won in
00:20a while.
00:21Plank M, if it hurts it's working guys, you want to get you guys a six pack here, something
00:31I used to have.
00:32When you guys chop like that, it can be hard to tackle.
00:38When we get the ball and we're running to the end zone, do we stop at the 40 to catch
00:44our breath or do we keep going?
00:47That's what we need to do in practice guys.
00:49Hey, while you're hustling, we're going to the bathroom, don't be walking.
00:53Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
01:19What is that?
01:20There's some times where we may have 12 kids for an 11-man football game.
01:25One time I said, you guys want to stay home?
01:29You want to stay home, forfeit the game?
01:31I said, I'll let you guys vote on it, I'm not going to force you guys to go over here
01:35and play.
01:38Out of all 12 kids, they all said, let's go, let's just go play.
01:42Oh, hey.
01:44I was like, okay.
01:46That melted my heart.
01:47Let's go.
01:48I like it.
01:49Let's go.
01:50That's the attitude I like to have.
02:05In the community in northern Minnesota, Indian country, the sport is basketball.
02:1197, 98, 99, 2000, 2001, two, three, 14, 15, 16.
02:21Come on here, one o'clock at night, there's kids hoping here.
02:27Maybe it's because we've had success at basketball, you know what I mean?
02:30We've had a lot of success, so naturally, people want to gravitate towards something
02:34that's working, right?
02:35Who wants to go and be the guys who go get beat up on Friday nights?
02:41There's been no winning since, I don't even know, 20 years ago.
02:44I ain't even been alive that long.
02:47I know last year wasn't too good for us.
02:49I didn't play, but still.
02:51It's a zero record.
02:53I know last year wasn't too good for us.
02:55I didn't play, but still.
02:57It's a zero record.
03:17But yeah, I'll call you after here then.
03:19All right, bye.
03:20All right, thanks, Ken.
03:22Yep, later.
03:23Yeah, on Tuesday.
03:31If you've never played football before, how are you going to know if you're going to like it or love it?
03:36When you put a helmet on, you might just fall in love with it even before you get to hit anybody.
03:41Just putting that helmet on, like, okay, this is how it feels, man.
03:45Okay, this is how it feels, man.
03:47Okay.
03:48Now let me put the shoulder pads on.
03:50Okay.
03:51Now let's start going to hit somebody, okay?
03:53You get your bell rung, you get back in there like, okay, man, let's do this again.
03:59I'm coming for you, I'm coming for you.
04:01I'm coming for you.
04:14I don't want a football team to be the worst in Minnesota.
04:16I want it eventually to be at least up there.
04:19Not the worst, but like somewhere, you know?
04:23The morale goes down after we lose the first game, you know?
04:29It goes down like, oh, this is going to be a repeat of whatever.
04:32But I just want everyone to be motivated, you know?
04:34Like, as hyped up as I am.
04:39I don't want my season, like my last year of football to be ended because people don't want to show up.
04:52I think I may have the only child on a res that has NFL dreams.
04:56D1.
04:57D1.
04:58It's always been D1.
04:59Yeah.
05:00Football is his game, and it's always been.
05:04We go to every single game, every practice.
05:06I can't imagine not going to one.
05:09It's just what we've always done.
05:11There he goes, there he goes.
05:13Come on, Austin, pass him up.
05:15There you go, Mr. Bryan, looking better today.
05:18Set.
05:20Hut.
05:22When you say football here, it's kind of passive.
05:25You don't have the fans there, you don't really have that support.
05:29Good practice today.
05:30I got to have you guys running because y'all already know we're going to be outmanned every game again, okay?
05:38If there's 11 of us, there's no subs.
05:41And you got to play defense, you got to play both sides.
05:43I counted 24 that should be here, 9 through 12.
05:48So you guys know who they are, bring them out here.
05:50Bring them out here.
05:51Thank you guys, I appreciate you.
05:54I just kind of want everyone to have fun, you know, see the bright side of it.
05:59And try to get the younger guys to get into it as much as I did.
06:09Because eventually I feel like football, it's not going to be here anymore.
06:15It's just going to be cut out from Red Lake.
06:20Yeah.
06:32Yeah, yeah.
06:33What you've been seeing is what we do every day, man.
06:35Try to better this place.
06:39One day at a time, man.
06:41One kid at a time, if it takes.
06:43That's what our core, our foundations and our bylaws are, you know, is to help our community out.
06:50That's the thing I live by, man.
06:56If sports ain't around, then it's just a lot of bad depression shit, you know.
07:04I couldn't play football no more.
07:05And that's what really bring me down to the point where I was depressed in my life.
07:09And like, damn, I couldn't play my favorite sport no more.
07:14I remember just waking up, my parents dealing like this.
07:21Angie, you got into a car accident.
07:30No words.
07:33Just heartbroken.
07:40Here's a few things I'm going to tell you the doctors told me the day I woke up.
07:46They told me I couldn't stand up.
07:50Ain't going to able to run, jump, walk, play any type of sport.
07:59So when they told me all that, that really set a goal in my life.
08:06You know what? I'm going to prove these doctors wrong.
08:09That I can actually rebuild myself back up.
08:14And I did.
08:21Yeah, we all fucked up, bro.
08:25That's how you go about it after that.
08:34Got a new player already.
08:37Let's go set up in the locker room, bro.
08:41No one came today.
08:44So I just came on a bad day?
08:46No, you came on a good day. Any day is a good day.
08:50I think I counted 18.
08:529 on 9.
08:54My expectation, season-wise, is to have a season.
09:00If the numbers look the same, we're going to have to pull the plug.
09:05I got enough football helmets for our army right now.
09:08And I need an army.
09:10Oh, there you go, Em.
09:12Complete.
09:162-1.
09:202-1.
09:26Get his flag. Pick 6.
09:29Pick 6.
09:31We'll get better, son, man.
09:40Nolan, man, he's a good dude, man.
09:44Man, he gets shit done, man, yeah.
09:47He's gone through some rough shit within the past few years, man.
09:51His kid, his son passed away.
09:56Little Nolan, it was at that birthday party.
10:00He rolled over that Ranger.
10:02You know?
10:04Man, that's what it was.
10:07And that little guy, I called him Magic Hands.
10:11That kid could do some shit with the basketball, man, that nobody could do.
10:16He would have graduated last year, I think, yeah.
10:19Yeah.
10:38I know what he goes through, you know, and he knows what I go through.
10:43Okay.
10:45And so we adjust, you know, we learn how to lose and, you know,
10:48because we take the L every day living without him.
11:05Hard.
11:07One more.
11:10Swing.
11:13Get it! Get it!
11:29Okay, you got it? Okay, we're good.
11:32What's up, Charlie?
11:34I still wonder how his coach is still coaching after losing his kid.
11:39Dana, what's up, Dana?
11:41You know, because I can imagine some people being, like, down and giving up.
11:46But you, any kid that had a dad that was coaching would want them to still coach,
11:52no matter what, if that kid's gone.
11:5615 here, 16.
11:58Are we all marking up?
12:00Yeah.
12:02That's what's up, guys.
12:04Show them no mercy.
12:06War paint.
12:08Oh, bro, I didn't even do it right.
12:10I look goofy now, bro.
12:14First game of the season now.
12:17If we make mistakes, guys, we just move on to the next.
12:20There's no need to get frustrated, pissed off, whatever it is.
12:23We just move on to the next, guys.
12:25It's just like in life. You mess up, you just move on to the next phase.
12:28You can't sit there and dwell on the past, guys.
12:30The more you dwell on the past, it eats you up in your head.
12:34You just forget about it, move on.
12:36You're a three-hour trip.
12:37Let's make it a long bus ride home for them, guys.
12:51All right, guys.
12:53Good. Good sideline.
12:55Good luck, good luck, good luck, good luck.
12:58Hey, good luck today.
13:00Good luck, good luck.
13:02Right up here, Gabe.
13:08Go, go, go.
13:16Hey, good luck.
13:24No reason to hang your head, guys.
13:26No reason to hang your head, guys.
13:37Every play, guys, we gain confidence, guys.
13:47Don't let them see you cry, big man, okay?
13:56Runtime, second half.
13:58We're getting banged up.
14:00It'd be best for both teams.
14:02Gabe on the sideline.
14:04We got 19 of us.
14:08Game, guys.
14:10Game, guys.
14:12Game, guys.
14:14Thanks for coming to the res, guys.
14:16Thank you, guys. Thanks for coming, guys.
14:18The past 48 hours, it's been like nonstop.
14:22Is Red Lake going to play? I'm like, yeah, we're going to play, we're going to play.
14:25Why? I had faith in all you guys would be here.
14:28And you guys showed up, you manned up, guys.
14:30You came to party, put it that way.
14:33You look at our numbers from last week, what were we looking at?
14:35What were we looking at, nine guys?
14:37We got 19 today, guys.
14:39Once school starts.
14:41Hey, bro, let's go play football.
14:43Come on, come on, just drag them out here.
14:45Get your haircuts after practice.
14:47Hey, not during coach's time.
14:50If you need a haircut, I'll cut your hair right at practice.
14:54You may like it or you may love it.
15:00Good work out there today, boys.
15:02Shit was fun as hell, man.
15:06Three warriors on three.
15:08One, two, three, Warriors!
15:19It's kind of hard, man, because I don't know what to do after this.
15:27Come on, get it!
15:29When I graduate, I'm trying to go get my coaching license and stuff so I can help with these guys.
15:36I want to help make them better so they can get to college and make a future.
15:45That's just my goal, I want to see them winning.
15:59I'm going to send you that on Facebook, put that as your profile picture.
16:06I'd like to introduce your 2023 Red Lake football team.
16:18Cheryl, kicker, and Paul, scorer.
16:20Tied ball, yo.
16:26Tied ball, yo.
16:29Michael, Paul.
16:32Michael, Michael Grunt.
16:34Talk great.
16:36It's like, you play with these people and you go, you trust each other, you try to protect each other all throughout the season, for weeks, through practices.
16:47Like, every single day you get closer.
16:51You can trust them, it's just like a different type of bond.
16:59Yeah!
17:24I like playing this number because Noah Wallace wore it.
17:29Yeah.
17:44I don't know, it's like all those basketball tournaments we used to go to.
17:51Should be watching footage of that sometimes.
17:58Woo!
18:00Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo.
18:03Cheryl Kingberg.
18:05Woo!
18:08Oh, there you go, Jess.
18:10Three, one, two, three, Warriors!
18:12Yeah!
18:21Kind of a cold, rainy, chilly night here in Red Lake as we get things moving here for the sixth week of the high school football season.
18:31The Minoan Walking Thunderbirds, 5-0 on the season.
18:35And the 0-5 Red Lake Warriors.
18:42Hey!
18:44Hey!
18:46Hey!
19:03Yeah!
19:04Yeah!
19:10You know, they are what their team is, you know, they battled.
19:22All I can say is, man, they are Ogeechee Dog.
19:25They're true warriors.
19:35Yeah!
19:43I want to win every game.
19:46Every game.
19:50We just got to learn how to lose.
19:52You know, I lost my son, so I lost a lot.
19:58I could have gave up on the whole program and everything this summer.
20:01He died and it took me a long time to come back.
20:11The kids wanted me back.
20:17Being around these kids, it makes me feel special to be here still.
20:24Cheryl Kingberg down the sideline!
20:27That's done!
20:29Cheryl Kingberg to the house!
20:32I'd rather lose with these guys, like, a thousand times,
20:35than win with a bunch of people I'm not really that close with.
20:41I'd choose this team so many times.
20:48Three Warriors on three!
20:49One, two, three, Warriors!
20:59You guys pay attention, all right?
21:02I know your attention span is very small,
21:07but it's important what we're trying to teach you, okay?
21:15He's a lineman!
21:19You guys want to have a race?
21:21You guys want to have a race?
21:23No race?
21:25Race!
21:27Race!
21:31Yeah!
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