With a solid 2–1 start to the season, defensive coordinator and head coach Jayden Lawson reflects on the team’s progress, resilience, and collective effort. After learning from a tough opening loss, the Knights Juniors bounced back with two strong wins at home, showing growth on both sides of the ball. As the team prepares for its first road challenge, Lawson shares his perspective on improvements, team mentality, and what lies ahead.
How would you evaluate the team’s performance in the first three games of the season?
Having a 2-1 record and sitting 2nd place overall in the league is a solid foundation and start to the season. We possess great resilience, work ethic and team chemistry which are key contributors to our success this first half of this season. From a fundamental aspect, we’ve shown flashes of downhill and fast pace offence and hard-nosed and stout defence. Overall, the team’s trajectory is trending great and I’m proud of the growth we’ve made over the past 3 games.
The first game didn’t go as planned, but the next two ended with wins. Where do you see the biggest improvements in the team’s play?
You can’t reach a certain level of success, become winners or champions without facing adversity. We learnt and grew as a team after from the tough week 1 lose. It was a pivotal moment that taught us the importance of maintaining focus and execution throughout the entirety of the game and the moment you become complacent is when you open the door for your opponent. So playing a full game of hard, fast, physical and fundamental football has been our biggest contributor improvement. Additionally, us as coaches are getting more comfortable and confident which means we are able to put our players in the best possible position for success on the field. This reflects a lot in our rookies who are all growing to be an integral part of our team, strong impact and key role players.
All three games were at home. How do you think the team will handle the upcoming road games?
Road games always pose their own unique obstacles and challenges because there is a lot of moving pieces. Usti Blades will be our first road game of the season and for some their first road game ever so I expect there to be some wrinkles to address and iron out but nothing game altering. We have a goal in-sight and the team seems to be locked in on that goal. So if we execute on the game plan and don’t let the of distractions of travel effect our effort of focus, we should get the outcome we hope for.
Which individual performances stood out to you the most so far?
There is no individual performance that stands out. What’s stood out the most so far has been the collective effort across the team. Each game has shown different players stepping up in key moments, which speaks to the team’s depth and unselfishness. Whether it’s been scoring effortlessly, defensive stops or turnovers, energy off the bench, or leadership on the field, the team’s success has been driven by everyone embracing their role and contributing when needed.
What do you think the team still needs to work on the most before the next games?
Going into our next game, we are hyper focused on limiting turnovers on offence whether it’s a turnover on downs, lost fumble, or interception. On defence we are looking to create scoring opportunities for our offence, and limit explosion plays through the air. The team, offence and defence, will execute on minimizing the mental mistakes and finishing every play with 5 bodies to the ball. Overall, we are in a good position, but the goal is to play mistake free football and keep raising the standard each game we play.
