Cameron Minor is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mountain Pointe High School for AZPreps365.com

Most people would say a coach’s main priority should be to bring their organization as many wins and championships as possible. Eric Lauer is not like most coaches as he merely uses the game of football as a metaphor, to prepare his players for life on and off the field. 

Rather than counting wins, losses and championship rings, Lauer, Mountain Pointe’s new football coach, is more focused on the culture of his team and building character. Wins, he said, will eventually come. Do not be mistaken, Lauer is no stranger to winning and success usually follows him wherever he goes. But as he returns to the place where he once was a key part of the Pride’s glory years, his goals have many layers.  

Entering his 30th season coaching, Lauer was a part of arguably Mountain Pointe’s best football years, helping lead the team as an assistant coach in an undefeated season that ended with a state title in 2013. During that time, the Pride reached the state finals three times and the semi-finals five other times. 

Normally a perfect season with a state championship would be a coach’s greatest accomplishment but for Lauer all it did was humble him. As he waited for the super high feeling of being on top of the world and being untouchable to hit, it never did. What it did do was make him realize what was important in life because at the end of the day, a ring is just a ring.

What really mattered was his family and the chance to help better his players' character.

In 2018, Lauer left Mountain Point and took over the coaching helm at Tempe Marcos de Niza for two seasons. But after Mountain Pointe coach Rich Wellbrock stepped down in 2019 following a 1-9 season that was marred by a bizarre scandal, Lauer was tapped to return to the Ahwatukee school. 

He would quickly realize the team was not the same championship team he was a part of in the previous years. He had his fair share of work cut out for him as the Pride lost a lot of seniors and veteran players in addition to new transfers, and to top it all off, the COVID-19 pandemic hit affecting the future of their season.

At 0-3 heading into Friday night’s game against Basha, Mountain Pointe is still looking for its first win, but Lauer is optimistic for the future and cares more about how his team plays and prepares than the overall outcome. 

Some might say he was dealt a bad hand, but Lauer continues to battle through the adversity, making no excuses for factors that are out of his control. 

“We can’t control what's going on in the world, but we can control what’s going on here,” he said. 

Many people on the outside have a lot to say about Mountain Pointe after its program was rocked last year. According to the Arizona Republic, a mole in the previous coaching staff leaked the football team’s playbooks to other schools, resulting in nine straight losses and Wellbrock’s resignation. 

Even though this was the talk of the town with opinions from everyone Lauer refuses to allow any outside chatter affect him and his team.This was a big point for Lauer as he compared his team to a ship and he can’t let it sink. 

“When a ship sinks it’s not because of the water on the outside, it’s when the water is on the inside ... we can’t let what’s happening on the outside affect what we have going on here,” Lauer said. 

The school’s motto is to embrace the chase -- the identity of the Mountain Pointe pride is that they are lions, they are hungry and constantly on the hunt, and this identity is what Lauer made his players buy into. Although it won’t be easy, especially the first year with a new team, he is putting emphasis on the idea that they have to embrace the chase and the grind, and work together as a team in order to win. 

“People want to be involved in a winning program but do you want to be a part of the reason?” Lauer asked. 

Anyone can sit on the bench and physically be a part of a winning team, but Lauer wants players to realize what role they have to play to be a part of the reason for the winning. When asked about the change in culture since Lauer showed up in comparison to other years, senior lineman Anthony Ortiz responded, “Players are locked in… he set the tone from day one.” 

In previous years, said Ortiz, there was no standard or expectation so players would show up late, struggle with grades and had no fight left in them. But all of that has changed now. 

“No matter how down we are we’re gonna keep fighting and competing, players are bought in.” Ortiz said. 

Although Lauer has only been back for one season, he has already gained the respect of the entire school in addition to bringing back the culture of football players helping around the community. Whether it is assisting teachers, breaking up fights, or cleaning up debris in the Valley, the football players are on it.

Lauer does not ask them to do anything he is not willing to do, which showed as he was right next to them in the streets of Phoenix picking up trash. 

Activities like this help bond a team and create a brotherhood. Because of the pandemic and the transfers combined with younger players, it is hard to create team chemistry, but that does not stop Lauer. Ortiz shared a story about how one of the first things Lauer did was hold a mandatory team bonding activity where players shared their highest highs and deepest fears to build team chemistry. 

Lauer is a very family oriented man -- he and his wife Terri have been married for 28 years and have two kids in their 20s. He’s also viewed as a father figure by many of the players on the team.  

“He’s probably one of my favorite coaches. Other coaches just care about the wins but it’s not always about football.  He’s like another father figure to us.” Ortiz said. 

The way Lauer is there for his players no matter what, and the lessons he teaches them about manhood outside of the dashes, has earned him respect as a father-type role model. Jaden Crockett, a quarterback transfer from Alhambra, has only known Lauer for a short amount of time and he can already tell the type of coach he is and the impact he has on his players. 

“Coach Lauer has a lot of connections and he’s been places, he pushes his players to be the best they can be and he tries to give them the best opportunity," Crockett said. "He pushes as if they were his son.”

Lauer has a long journey ahead of him if he wishes to rebuild the identity of the chaser community, but with the work he has done so far in such little time, the future of the football team seems to be in good hands. 

There is a method to the madness, because Lauer is not your typical high school football coach. If you’re looking for a coach who will yell at you, scream during practice and throw his clipboard when he is angry, then Lauer isn’t your guy. If you want a coach who will elevate his players, push them to be the best they can be as a person, a coach who leads by example through his actions, then the Pride appear to have found the right man.