In 2018, Anacortes went 0-9. We had just 16 healthy players in our entire program and had to forfeit our final game. In 2019, we cancelled varsity football. We burned the program to the ground and rebuilt it from the bottom up. We invested heavily in our youth teams. We attacked the offseason. We recruited athletes in the halls like crazy. We changed the style of football we played to attract basketball and baseball players and built relationships with those coaches to help encourage multisport athletes. We hired coaches who cared about development and long term success and we challenged our staff to make football practice the best part of an athlete’s day. We returned to varsity football in 2021. Since then: 80-95 athletes in our program each year. 60-8 record. Two state championships. I’m not saying we have it all figured out. We don’t. What works at Anacortes may not work at another school. But football is a numbers game. If we want this sport to survive, we have to be willing to ask ourselves a hard question: What can we change to make more kids want to play football? Then do those things. This is the greatest sport on the planet, and it breaks my heart watching programs across our state cancel seasons because they can’t put enough kids on the field. Rebuild. Adapt. Get creative. Find your formula. Every school and every community has a different answer. I hope every program facing this challenge finds theirs because football is worth fighting for.