Deep Run’s football team has had a rough start this season. Currently, Deep Run has one forfeited win against Mechanicsville and seven losses. The team has been working hard to improve its performance and strategy with each game, but the biggest goal for the team is to work on its morale.

“The goal is to get better every day as a program. Wins matter, but at this stage of our process, the priority has to be improvement from within. Our greatest opponent is ourselves,” head coach Joe Mullinax said. “When things go poorly, it can easily snowball into a ‘here we go again’ mentality.”

The team’s reformation under the lead of Mullinax, now in his second year as head coach at Deep Run, is underway and the coaches and athletes are working toward accomplishing this shared goal. This has included some new approaches on the field and in the weight room.

“We are running different defensive and offensive schemes and have adjusted the way we practice. We are also prioritizing in-season weight training as a way to maintain our off-season gains while also rehabbing and being proactive with injury,” Mullinax said.

The progress of the program should not be overshadowed by their record on the field.  The number of players on the team has grown to the seventies, with over half of them being freshmen, leaving plenty of time in years to come to rebuild from the ground up.

“Our roster breakdown is much more advantageous to consistent success – if we can keep the young players out for football, we will see development, which will lead to more wins,” Mullinax said.

One of the team’s strengths is its dynamic among the players. Defensive end and varsity captain Taeg Singh sees the team’s goal as a longer-term one built around the work his teammates are doing now.

“My personal goal is to make this team better, not only for me but for the future of Deep Run,” Singh said. “A number on a paper doesn’t define a program and who we are.”

Although this year is Singh’s last year, he is loyally committed to building a legacy for years to come.

“My goal is to help in any way possible to prepare us for the future. I love this program so much. I love coach Mullinax and what he’s building. I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else,” Singh said.