The culture that Westinghouse football head coach Donta Green has established in the five years since he assumed the role is obvious to anyone who’s kept an eye on the program.
Green runs a tight ship, whether it’s requiring 25 immediate pushups from anyone who swears—an occurrence as common as dirt on most football fields—or his constant pushing for players to improve. Even if the team earns a lopsided win, they still place a premium on identifying what could’ve been better in their postgame huddles.
“That’s what we preach to the guys, it’s always ‘us versus us,’” Green said. “It’s always ‘can we execute?’”
Junior quarterback Khalil Green said that his coach is an excellent role model, which makes the constructive criticism all the more effective.
“It helps me a lot because he’s a big role model for me,” Green said. “When he gets on me I know he’s on me for a reason. I’ve gotta pick it up.”
Donta Green gave insight into his growth-oriented mindset.
“You have to always have an introspective point of view, looking at yourself,” Green said. “We talk about accountability, it’s always about us. It’s never about the other team. If we’re not doing what we need to do, then it reflects on the scoreboard. If you come out and do exactly what you’re supposed to do, then we’ll score the points we need to score.”
“It’s Not All About Football”
Khalil Green continued to describe what makes his coach so successful as a role model for Westinghouse: particularly his focus on excellence off the field.
“It’s not all about football. He’s trying to make us better as Black males,” Khalil Green said. “He’s trying to make us go farther than just football.”
For context, US News reports that more than 93 percent of students at Westinghouse identify as Black or African-American.
When asked what makes his head coach stand out as a role model, Khalil Green seemed lost for words. “Everything,” he answered.
Donta Green didn’t mince words when ask about his work as a role model.
“That is my number one job. That is my number one goal,” Green said. “Winning football games is the byproduct.”
Win football games they certainly have, amassing a 40-3 record over the past four seasons—including a run to the state championship game in 2022.
Donta Green said that he focused on finding role models in assembling his coaching staff. He wanted to surround his players with people to look up to.
“I feel like I am charged with the duty of making sure that I am exhibiting the behaviors we want to see in our kids, and everyone that I put in place around us is doing the same thing,” Green said. “If you look at the coaching staff I have, they’re family men, they’re guys that are taking of their responsibilities. They have careers.”
Looking at Leadership
Even after losing a talented senior class last year, Westinghouse hasn’t missed a beat, winning each of their nine games so far. Donta Green said that he’s seen the fruits of his effort in how his older players respond.
“We trust the process. The guys who are starters this year, they’ve been in the program for the last two years probably,” Green said. “They’ve been to workouts, they’ve seen all the mistakes the seniors made, and now they’re coming back and not making those same mistakes.”
Green described the team’s success as a collective effort, saying that leaders within the program arise naturally without his prompting.
“We always talk about the program. It’s not an individual kid, it’s not a position, it’s not one facet of the game, it’s everybody collectively. That’s our approach to the game, and it’s been working out for us so far,” Green said. “It almost happens naturally. The leaders we have now knew that it was their time…It’s not anything I can say ‘I planned for this,’ it just kinda happened.”
