The start of the 2025 Arizona big high school football regular season is here and, as is usually the case, team expectations are high.
Football success is synonymous with the Chandler Unified School District who boasts arguably the most talented collection of rosters in the state.
During CUSD Media Day, I asked each of the six head coaches (three are entering their first season at their respective school), unscripted and unprompted, where they saw the most growth within their program, and I received one consistent theme in their responses.
Joe Bushman – Casteel
“That’s a great question. I’d say definitely in the team bonding aspect.
The team returned safe yesterday after a great chance to bond and develop at “Camp T”! Thank you to all the coaches, boosters and parents for supporting the boys. School starts Wednesday and then it’s on to preparing for the season! #PoundTheRock@JoeBushman5 @CasteelAthletic pic.twitter.com/nVsOHt7FLm
— Casteel Football (@CasteelFootball) July 14, 2025
“I felt like when I got on the ground, the kids really didn’t know each other as well as I would have liked. There was a division between offense and defense. Not a lot of senior interaction with sophomores and freshmen, and so, what we did is we started doing everything together.
“We had a dodge ball tournament. We had a volleyball tournament. We all went to the girls’ basketball game. We went to the cheer leading competition. We just started doing stuff together.
“It’s amazing how close our kids have gotten in such a short time. Sometimes I feel like I’ve almost gotten them too close.
“How you enjoy the ride is you have a bunch of kids who care about each other and love each other. I’ll be surprised if we don’t play with a lot passion and energy right out of the gate.”
Travis Dixon – Hamilton
“The bonding. Whether it’s in the weight room, off the field in the facility, I think that’s been the biggest change from past teams. I’m not saying anything [bad] about the past groups or prior teams, but when you see teams come together and truly, genuinely care about one another, that’s been a tremendous thing.
“And the thing I love about it most, there’s no wins and losses tied to this. This is truly, genuinely how it is right now, and that is great.
“We want to keep that same energy and same frequency all the way through the season because we’re going to get 11 guys playing as one and that’s what it takes to be a sound, disciplined football team.
15 days until opening kickoff pic.twitter.com/FVAMyqVHVq
— Travis Dixon (@CoachDixonDBs) August 13, 2025
“The bonding creates a trust. I think the biggest thing for these guys, why they do it, is because they truly care about one another.
“If you care about one another, you own it. You protect it.”
Chris McDonald – Basha
“I’m going to say our offensive side of the ball I’ve seen the most improvement, particularly at wide receiver and along the offensive line.
“The reason why I say that is, we literally return everybody on defense, and we return 23 of our top 25 [players] on defense last year. I think they’re the reason why they’ve helped propel our offense because these guys catch zero breaks when they’re in competition or whatever.
Brand New Era #WHYBASHA @MarquesReischl @BashaAthletics @bashabearnation pic.twitter.com/PG6g36Cx1h
— Basha Gridiron (@bashagridiron) August 14, 2025
“You’re going to get embarrassed [by our defense], if you don’t raise your level of play [in practice]. At the very beginning, it was tough [for our offense].
“Our receiver room really developed because they’re going up against four returning starters. They had no room for error. Our defensive line is really good, too.
Joseph Ortiz – Perry
“Working on our culture. Working on our DNA. We wanted to define what culture meant, and the DNA went a long way with that – explaining what we want out of our kids.
This is absolute fire! Cant wait for the season to start this week! https://t.co/leU9Unje3N
— Joseph Ortiz (@JosephO24) August 24, 2025
“When we talk about culture. We’ve words and sayings, but kids don’t really know what that means.
“Also, our overall talent has gone up as a football team. From top to bottom: offensive line, defensive line, the skill positions, speed wise, our quarterback.
“We’re just more talented than we’ve ever been and we’re really excited to see what we can put out there this year.”
Ty Wisdom – Chandler
“First and foremost, how we’ve come together as a team. From when I got [here] in January, the discipline part of just handling our day-to-day business.
“We’re not there yet, but it’s one of those things I just won’t lose at. I hammer it day in, and day out.
QuietTime pic.twitter.com/bDmfbxuvE7
— Coach Wiz (@Coach_Wiz3) August 25, 2025
“We’re slowly getting better at it. I believe when you do all the right things…like keeping the locker room clean. When you’re doing those things day in, and day out, that translates to winning games.
“I think that’s where we’ve really improved. When we went to camp [in Eager], the brotherhood and passion has really grown.”
Derek Zellner – Arizona College Prep
“I think the biggest thing I’ve seen is the build of the trust.
“They loved [former head coach] Coach [Steve] Vaught. Absolutely loved him. Coach Vaught left to what’s best for him. So, me coming in, it was like, ‘Okay, who’s this guy?’
“The big battle was for me to earn their trust, and as we went through spring, and more so, the summer, that’s where the trust really blossomed and opened up.
“I think that’s the most important thing that we’ve built – which now translates into the weight room, which then translates into these guys in the classroom, and then it translates onto the field.
Work work work work! 1% better every day!@ACPAthletics @AcpBoosters @CodyTCameron @AY_BILT @CUSDAthletics pic.twitter.com/hhip1Cndy7
— AZ College Prep Football (@ACPFootball17) June 22, 2025
“Just knowing that, ‘Hey, I’m here for you. We’re going to have a good season. I care about you. Trust me. I trust you. Let’s go do great things.’”
The post Zone Read: CUSD Programs Preach Common Theme for 2025 Season first appeared on Sports360AZ.
