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Stickers on helmet of some Campo Verde football players are much more than meets the eye

There is much more than meets the eye when it comes to the Campo Verde Football program.

GILBERT, Ariz. — “It’s not just a sticker on the helmet,” senior safety Nate Gomez said. “There’s a meaning behind it.”

If you look close enough, you might spot large lambda symbols on the back of some football helmets on the Campo Verde football team. But the meaning behind the symbol is much more than aesthetics.

“It’s more than just the cool sticker look,” senior offensive lineman Carson Cagle said. “It’s really showing how much work you’ve put in, from this time we’re padded up and even in the summer.”

Each player on the varsity roster starts the season with a strip of black tape on the back of their helmet. But if they prove to the coach and the team they’re committed to the betterment of the program, the coach might “pull your tape” and replace it with the lambda symbol.

“You still have to earn your way into the program,” Head Coach Ryan Freeman said. “We want to give them their moment in the light in front of their teammates and to be recognized for who they are as a person when no one else is watching."

A core of seniors came up with the team’s core values for the 2022 season, which is passion, discipline and commitment to the team. If you happen to exude those characteristics on a consistent basis, then you can bet you will have your tape pulled at some point throughout the season. An action these players don’t take lightly.

"It's very meaningful when your name gets called up and the coach talks to you in front of everyone,” Gomez said. “It's a nice memory you'll have forever. Everyone sees he got his tape pulled, he gets it done in the classroom and on the field. So like ok, maybe I need to step it up now to get my tape pulled."

It’s a running tradition that has lasted for 14 years and one that preaches accountability along with rewarding these student-athletes for a job well done, even if they feel like no one is watching.

“It’s all about acknowledging one another for what they put into it,” Freeman said. “Because nobody sees all of the work that goes into a Friday night, they just see the Friday night."

In addition to a unique look on the helmet, it resembles a sense of pride and work ethic within oneself. A theme for this team whether it’s on the practice field or on Friday nights.

"It keeps practices high intense because everybody at the end of practice wants to hear their name called and their tape pulled,” Cagle added. “So it keeps people battling all the time."

Players can also receive smaller lambda stickers for in-game stats and work in the classroom, so the students have multiple ways to prove they value the team over themselves. The ultimate sign of selflessness and being a team player.

"If someone is exemplifying one of those core values, and the team over the self mentality that we have,” Coach said. “Then one of the coaches here will pull the black tape for the player."

Hopefully, by the season’s end, every teammate will have the lambda sticker plastered on their helmet, as a testament to the unity this team shares amongst each other.

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