Jonathan Levinsky is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Heritage Academy Laveen for AZPreps.com

The sun sets on yet another blistering September day in Arizona. Stephen Hemming stands in the shotgun, waiting for the snap, half back on his right hip.

He takes the snap and fires a perfect pass to his receiver for a touchdown. Then, he blows his whistle, signaling the end of a Tuesday practice.

Since his roster only has 32 active players, and not everyone is on the field at the same time, he and his fellow coaches sometimes step in to simulate certain situations. 

Hemming is in his first year as head coach of the Heritage Academy Heroes. While the season thus far has had its fair share of ups and downs at 4-3 overall in 2A, Hemming has brought something new to the locker room; something that had been missing in the last few seasons: culture.

One of the ways he has been to accomplish this is by being more involved in practice than a head coach might be otherwise as the Hereos prepare to host Tonopah Valley at Bourgade Catholic High on Friday.

“The biggest thing is consistency,” Hemming said. “We want them to know that we’ll be there for them.”

One of the biggest areas the Heroes consistently lacked in, is hanging on to their head coach. Hemming is the program’s third hire in the same amount of seasons, and the fourth in the last nine years. 

His willingness to be patient and be there for his players hasn’t gone unnoticed. For Andrew Saathoff, Heritage Academy’s athletic director, it was what “sold” him on hiring Hemming. 

“In talking to other coaches that worked with him, they cited him building a positive team culture and working with the kids to get the most out of each player,” Saathoff said. “Even in the few months that he’s been here at Heritage, he has turned the team culture around.” 

This isn’t Hemming’s first rodeo. He spent last year at Shadow Mountain High as well as roughly five other schools in the years prior,  before being hired for his current role with Heritage Academy this past summer. 

Born in the upper peninsula of Michigan, Hemming grew up watching the glory days of the NFC North. He said this is what got him into football. 

“I loved growing up watching Brett Favre, watching him sling it; watching Reggie White just kill anyone in his way,” Hemming said. 

If there wasn’t a game on, Hemming and his brother would be in the front yard, practicing plays and recreating their favorite moments from games.  

While bonding with his older brother was certainly crucial in developing his love for the pigskin, Hemming said his coaches were his biggest influence. Not just as a player, but also as a man.

“I got really lucky,” Hemming said. I [had] coaches that cared. I still talk to my coaches that I’ve known since I was 10 years old.”

His coaches were a “male figure” of sorts that he never knew he needed until he had them. This inspired him to want to become a coach and give back to a game that essentially shaped his life. 

Hemming went on to join the Marine Corps, where he served as a Corporal for five years. After leaving, he realized how much it taught him how to respect and be there for his fellow man, something his coaches had instilled in him all those years ago. 

“I was like, ‘Well, what sport do I want to coach?’ " Hemming said. 

It was an easy decision. Football, of course. 

When Hemming left Shadow Mountain for greener pastures in Laveen, he brought his longtime friend and defensive coordinator, Wayne Corricelli, with him.

They found themselves not just having to teach a brand new scheme, but also quite literally having to teach and reteach players basic fundamentals, as many of the players had never played a down of football, varsity or not, in their lives.

“You’re not just teaching them schemes and different exotic blitzes and all that — you’re teaching them how to play football, the rules of football,” Corricelli said. “So, you really have to go [back] to step one there.” 

Hemming and Corricelli have both noticed dramatic improvements over the last couple of months, making them hopeful that they’ll be here in the long run. 

“The goal is to be here for a while, set a standard, be the longest coach, whatever those little accolades are and really just make this a really great program that I think it can be,” Hemming said.