Brotherhood And Leadership Fuel Chief Sealth’s Football Program

As his team heads into Week 7 of the football season, Chief Sealth head football coach Daron Camacho credits the team’s success to a strong sense of brotherhood and the emergence of new leaders both on and off the field.

The team, which fields a total of 14 seniors, is currently 2-2 in the Metro League and 3-3 overall.

“We graduated 24 seniors last year, so coming into this year, there were a lot of players that had to step up into new roles, and a lot of players have been providing some leadership,” said Camacho. “We also have players where this is their first time starting varsity, and they are doing a great job for our team. We lost to some very competitive teams, but throughout the whole four quarters, we were right within the game.”

Although many players have stepped into leadership roles this season, Camacho said a core group has consistently set the tone through both action and attitude. Some, like Kouba Maga, MJ Filitaula, Ogi Petronijevic, Marshawn Tovia-Ford, and Graham Hull, have led by example—showing up to summer workouts, pushing themselves and their teammates, and bringing energy to every practice.

“There are two sides to leadership, there are always different ways to lead, and we have several groups of players who have been to our summer workouts consistently, and that definitely helped going into the season,” Camacho said. “And then we have some leadership from players who are just vocal on the practice field and during games.”

The word “brotherhood” comes up often when talking with Camacho — a value that holds deep meaning for him, his players, and the football program. As a Chief Sealth alum, now coaching alongside several fellow graduates, that bond carries special significance.

“When you think about brotherhood, I think about community,” says Camacho. “I think we have a strong showing of community within our school, and in literal terms, we have multiple sets of brothers who play together on this team. So, we really like to have that sense of brotherhood.”

“We want to make sure that we are family-oriented, so we have our team dinners every Thursday, and I couldn’t thank the parents enough for all that they do in hosting these team dinners to make sure that we embrace brotherhood and being family-oriented,” added Comacho.

One of those sibling pairs, Marshawn and Marquis Tovia-Ford, offers a clear example of how family and leadership go hand in hand. Camacho said Marshawn, a senior, naturally leads by example both as a veteran player and older brother.

“I think you can kind of just see that leadership blossom between them. [Marshawn] is not only a senior, but also showing what it is like to be an older brother on the team as well,” said Camacho.

Even after big wins, the goal for Camacho and his team is to always improve, no matter how well they performed during the previous week.

“We are just making sure that we are continuing to improve,” said Camacho. “Just because we had a strong performance, there is always a team out there that we have to think is better than us. And so just making sure we are improving in our preparation is important.”

“Football is a long season, so we have to really make sure that week in and week out, we are prepared for each team that we play, improving, and making sure we are present in each week.,” added Camacho.

Watching his team come together and find success this season has been incredibly rewarding for Camacho. He’s grateful for the opportunity to continue building meaningful relationships with his players and staff year after year.

“Last spring, our numbers were pretty low, and then we came into the fall season, and we had as many as 70 players registered for football. So, the joy comes from just seeing how things started in the previous year and how it has come together this season,” said Camacho. “The biggest joy I have is, we have an offense and defensive staff this year, so being able to have a full staff is something that I’m very proud of. And I know we want to highlight our players, but I’m also very thankful for our staff. We have had a lot of new faces here this year, and it’s been great to kind of just work with them and be able to build relationships, not only with my players, but our staff as well.”