Through his mentorship on and off the field, Co-Captain Henry Sheldon ʼ24 builds a team environment beyond the game of football.
Sheldon’s athletic journey started in Ireland, where he grew up playing on a rugby team. When he moved to America, Sheldon was introduced to football, and ever since, he has valued the close companionship the sport has provided over the years.
“When I moved to America, there were a lot of similarities between rugby and football so it was pretty natural for me… I think the team camaraderie is great, you know there’s really a
brotherhood on the football team, it’s just a great sport to play and that’s why I love it,” said
Sheldon.
One of Sheldon’s main focuses is making sure that the team bond stretches between all grades.
As a Co-Captain, he wants to ensure that he exemplifies the qualities of a leader not just because he has the title of one.
“I think for me [leadership] is including everyone on the team, whether they’re a freshmen or a
postgrad[uate]… I speak with my actions as opposed to with my words so I try to implement that on the team, just working through your actions instead of being all talk. I think that as well as the
team inclusivity, is very important [for] everyone [to feel like they’re] a part of the team and [a part of the] brotherhood we have going on,” said Sheldon.
Byron Johnson ʼ25 knows that Sheldon is someone who is always striving to lead by example.
“One thing that stands out to me is that he’ll always keep the group focused. Sometimes we’ll be high energy and kind of go off track, but he always makes sure we’re doing the right thing, focusing on practice or focusing on the game. He’s always super engaged, and I think that’s probably one of his greatest features as a captain,” said Johnson.
Johnson also appreciated the support Sheldon offers to his teammates throughout the season. As a fellow offensive lineman, Johnson feels particularly close to Sheldon.
“Over the summer there was a camp at Williston that I wasn’t able to make, but one thing that [Henry] did for me was making sure that I knew the plays. He would offer to call me and go over the plays, always just making sure that I was ready for the season. Now that we’re [at school], he’s always talking to me during the games and after the games and while we’re watching film,” said Johnson.
Sheldon serves as a mentor off the field by meeting with his teammates outside of practices. He ensures that the support he offers them is not simply restricted to football.
“We have study halls [where] we go to admissions on Tuesday and Thursday nights after practice… I try to help out the Freshmen if they have a simple algebra question, chemistry question, or something like that. I think [leadership] is also shown outside of football. During study hall, all the Captains, all the Seniors, [are] helping out some of the new people at the school,” said Sheldon.
Along with the other captains, Sheldon works to build a relationship with Head Coach Trey
Brown. Co-Captain Joe Carrara ʼ24 believes the Captains’ communication efforts
are a factor in uniting the team as a whole.
“The Captains have a unique role where we’re kind of like the bridge between Coach and the
players. And if Coach has something he wants to run by us, we’ll do that. If we wanna run
something by him, it’s definitely a great relationship that we feel comfortable enough to do and
he feels the same way,” says Carrara.
Sheldon cherishes the time he has with the team and the position he is in to represent the
program. Every day, he strives to provide his younger teammates and peers around him with a good example.
“I definitely take honor and I take a lot of pride in [being Captain]. You know, getting to represent the team not just on the field, but off the field. I think it’s very important to be a good
representative to the rest of the school. Naturally, as a leader younger kids on the team
might look up to me, so I take pride in being a good role model in that sense,” said Sheldon.
Sheldon will continue his football career at Bowdoin College next year.
