CORTLAND, Ohio (WKBN) – For coaches, finding ways to motivate a team can come in many different ways.
“You walk around with a chain on, they’re all like, hey, what’s up with that chain?” Lakeview senior Alex Stowe said.
For the Lakeview Bulldogs and head coach Cam Carson, the “Big Dawg chain” kind of came naturally, in-part thanks last year’s seniors, spearheaded by 2022 graduate Cal Rink.
“It kind of started last year with him and that senior group. So we kind of upgraded this year, actually turned into a bulldog,” Carson said.
Now with the upgraded chain with the school’s mascot, the confidence matches the sparkle.
“[Last year] it was kind of like discreet, we didn’t really understand but that’s our thing now,” senior Tyler Capan said. “Whoever has it on for usually rocking it at school the next day and everyone in the school kind of understands, it’s pretty sweet.”
And that feeling the players have walking around school as “Big Dawg” is exactly what Carson is trying to build in his second season, and this senior class recognizes that.
“More people showing up to games and more supporters and whatnot, you have a lot of people coming out so it’s cool and also nice that we’re growing the culture here for baseball as well, which is pretty sweet,” Stowe said.
So far, the Bulldogs have turned some heads by winning of 6 of their first 7 games to start the year, giving them plenty of Big Dawg opportunities early on and hopefully a few more to go.
“We don’t give it out when we lose, it’s only on wins, so the more we win, the more people get the chain so it goes hand-in-hand with one another,” Carson said.
