West Charlotte Lions’ football goal: ‘Man the throne’

WEST CHARLOTTE ATHLETICS

West Charlotte football coach Sam Greiner is looking for a breakthrough season for his Lions in the North Carolina 3A ranks.

Coach Sam Greiner is putting West Charlotte football back on the map.

First, it’s Mecklenburg County; in December, he hopes it’s North Carolina.

“I say Lion pride is nationwide,” Greiner said. “It’s a real thing. If you travel outside of North Carolina, some people know who West Charlotte is and the history behind it is something special. The whole purpose of me being at the school is, I want to give back to the community who put so much into the name and want to bring West Charlotte back to the forefront of not just Charlotte, but North Carolina.”

Coming off a season where the Lions went 9-4 and 4-3 in the Queen City 3A/4A conference, West Charlotte is hungry to prove they are state title contenders.

“We’re definitely not satisfied,” Greiner said. “Like I said, the whole purpose of being here is that we want to be recognized throughout the state and throughout the nation. To do that, we’ve got to win the whole thing. We’ve won the 3A side of our conference since its existence. It’s time to push forward and win the conference outright.”

Greiner has said for several seasons that his group can win the 3A title. The Lions have yet to get to the final because their playoff route always seems to be through Cleveland County where formidable teams like Crest and Kings Mountain reside.

“I think we are being very intentional this year,” Greiner said. “We are opening up in Cleveland County. We are going to go up to a jamboree at Burns and go against (2A title contender) Shelby. I think one of the beautiful things about 3A football is the tradition. We can go over there and be (beating) someone, but that tradition, you have to beat them all four quarters. If you let up just a little bit, they can find a way to make magic happen and win.”

This season, Greiner hopes a Cleveland County team has to come to West Charlotte, but he is preparing as if the Lions will have to play on the road.

“I think just being prepared for the moment is key,” Greiner said. “We are talented enough to beat all of those teams. Discipline and hard work in the trenches, the whole deal. It is just something that you have got to be prepared for. That (tradition) is something cool that they have and we’ve got to be ready to take that on.”

After several years of coming up short, Greiner’s job in part becomes keeping the morale high and making sure the players know that they are talented enough to win it all.

“Our saying is ‘Man the throne,’” Greiner said. ‘“Man the throne’ means you have to be so great and that’s not just on the field but in the classroom, being a man, being a father one day, a husband. All of these things go into how you look at life. A lot of people who don’t know me personally might look at me and think ‘look at this cocky person.’ The confidence comes in who you believe. They have an identity; it’s built inside them.

‘My goal as a coach is to pull that out of (the players). It’s there, they just have to believe it and when they look in the mirror say, ‘You know what? I’m great, I’m a king, I’m a lion. I am the king of the jungle.”

Greiner is pouring into his players so that one day, they will become winners in life. He believes this year’s team will be more player-led because they’re buying into the “Man the throne” mantra.

“I think this is the first year that [players] are seeing their ownership and taking it,” Greiner said. “I feel there were glimpses of that last year, but it wasn’t quite led with the top group. I think now we have guys that hold people accountable, and they’ll see it through.”

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