At the beginning of senior Anthony Koza’s experience, football was just a game; however, as he continued through life, he learned that football was much more: an outlet. His journey with football began when he was just four years old. Today, he’s a varsity safety for Grant Community High School. Anthony goes to practice every day, leaving a lasting impact on all. Assistant coach for JV, Peter Laubenstein, shared his experience with Koza.

“When he was a freshman, he was little, but he could hit. We used to call him 115 pounds of pure football. He comes to practice every day ready, excited, and happy to play.”

Football became a lifeline for him during some of the most difficult moments in his life. It had been his father’s dream for Koza to play football in college, but unfortunately, he passed when Koza was just 11 years old. He stated that “ever since [he] always had a goal to make him proud. [He] carries this with [him] every day and it’s a huge motivation.”

Along with this, Koza broke his wrist last year during a game against Grayslake Central and found out that he could no longer play. He had expressed how that year had become “a low point in [his] life because what [he] loved had been taken from [him]”.

These moments of hardship would go on to shape his character and his approach to the game. Even though his road to recovery was long, he took control of the situation by studying the game from the sidelines and finding his vocal presence at practices. Since Koza could not play for the remainder of his junior season, he realized that football is not an “individual sport”, and that one person’s performance or absence can have a major impact on how games play out.

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For Koza’s final season with Grant, he decided to further explore leadership. He decided to run for one of the team captain positions and write a speech to convince his team that he was the right choice. Something Koza underscores in this speech is how he wanted to leave an impact and help improve his football family both on and off the field. After a team vote, Koza became one of the 2024 varsity team captains. His position as a captain has not only helped him learn about how to be a leader, but it helped teach others as well. Koza has been able to guide many of his teammates through the culture of Grant football, as well as push them to have a collective goal to become more unified as a team. This effort has not gone unnoticed.

Defensive coordinator Dave Mills stated, “As a leader, he is quick to recognize and celebrate when his fellow players do well and he does the hard things that help the team achieve success.”

Another one of Koza’s coaches, Kevin Art, believes “He’s someone who can change the outcome of a game with an athletic interception, open field tackle, or a big-time kickoff return for a touchdown. I’m not surprised his teammates chose him as a Team Captain and I’m looking forward to watching him unleash his big play potential”.

His fellow teammates have also been on the receiving end of Koza’s influence. Landon Jones thinks that “he is a very big necessity to the team because he always brings the energy and keeps everyone in check”.

Koza hopes to inspire his teammates and teach them useful skills that they can carry with them after the season is over. Football has become more than just a sport for Koza; it has built his character and provided him with skills that he will take with him for years to come.