Anderson strives to be the best

by Matthew Ondesko: Managing Editor

It’s an early wakeup during the summer.

While most are sleeping in, or hitting the beach, Mason Anderson is putting in the work. He’s up when most are sleeping putting in the extra throwing to get himself better. Whether he is working with Joe Licata, or attending numerous camps around the country, Anderson is a football junkie.

He wants to be the best quarterback in the country, You can tell when talking to him. He wants to be the best. He wants to put in all the work. He wants to attend every camp that he can attend to get better.

Some are strait quarterback camps. Some are leadership camps. It doesn’t matter to Anderson. He is a sponge just trying to soak it all in. He loves camp. He loves to compete. Anderson wants to get better, and this is the best way to do it.

“I like going to the camps because I love competing. When it’a 5 a.m. and I’m waking up, I still feel like I am competing against kids across the country. I go to these camps and I become friends with them there and we follow each other on social media. We see all of us working. I want to show the people throwing the camp that I am one of the best in my grade in the entire country,” stated Anderson. “All of the camps teach me something and help me grow as a leader and a quarterback.”

It’s at these camps where Anderson just doesn’t hone his skills but learns to be a leader. There are a lot of kids throughout the country that sling the ball around. But, playing the quarterback position isn’t just about throwing the football around, or keeping it and running for a first down.

It’s about leadership. The players around you have to believe that you can get the job done. So, while at these camps, Anderson is learning to be better at both.

“They also teach us about the QB program QBIQ. QB Universe has a Leadership Retreat every year and its on the beach in Florida. They teach us what it means to be a leader from the QB spot. They have some of the best QB’s in the country there and coaches,” stated Anderson. “I also went to the University of Miami for a QB camp through the Future 4 QB by Drew Phillips. They gave us a tour around the facility and former NFL play Mike Rumph talked to me about what it takes to get into the U on a football scholarship. It is harder than getting into Harvard he kept saying. It is a camp that had Spencer Rattler of the Saints and JJ McCarthy from Michigan and Vikings come from it. I also have zoom calls with QB coach Chris Hixon where he does everything from correcting my throwing motion to breaking down game film.”

At one camp last summer in California, Anderson was able to meet former National Football League quarterback Kurt Warner. Warner was there to talk about his journey from barely playing in college to winning a Super Bowl.

To hear from a legend, and what he had to go through, was an inspiration to all those that were in attendance during the camp. It showed how you should never quit on your dream, even if there are different roads to get to where you want it go.

“It was cool meeting Kurt Warner because we didn’t know he was going to be there. It was at QB Universe’s Los Angeles camp and he talked about his journey as a QB. He told us he sat the bench in college for three years before starting one year. Then he told us how he was with the Packers and the coach asked him to go in and he said he wasn’t ready yet because he didn’t know the playbook. He got cut that day. He told us that to let us know that any chance we have a time to compete, we have to take it. He told us about how he almost gave up football, how people kept telling him no and how he had to keep working and working,” stated Anderson. “He then talked about how he made it to the NFL, won a Super bowl and then just a few years later was replaced. He then went to the Giants and was benched for Eli Manning. He talked about being a leader at all times and being the best teammate and brother he could be. That it was always about the team. He never lost confidence in himself during any of it. He said that he was going to retire until Arizona called and that because he was confident in himself, he was able to go there and play great and take them to a Super Bowl. He is a Hall of Fame QB and most of his QB life people were telling him he wasn’t good enough but he always believed in himself.”

Through all these camps Anderson has transformed himself into a solid quarterback, and leader, for West Seneca West. This past season, Anderson lead the junior varsity as an eighth grader.

It’s not often an eighth grader gets to play on the junior varsity, especially in football. It’s usually highly unlikely that an eight grader gets to play the position of quarterback. But there was Anderson leading his team on the field.


Everything he has worked for so far in his early career came down to that first moment when he ran onto the field with his teammates. The excitement of putting on the West jersey for the first time. Taking his first snap as the starting quarterback on the JV.

At the end of the day it was about earning the trust of his teammates, earning the trust of those ninth and 10th graders. The wins were going to come, but it was getting that locker room to believe in the fact Anderson could get the job done.

“My teammates see how much work I put in the off season and know me because of either being teammates or my brother Micah. We went 7-1 last year and most of our team are 9th graders so they know me,” stated Anderson. “The 10th graders thought I was going to start JV last year so having them believe in me from the beginning helped. They see how much work I put in and my football IQ. I try to be a leader in everything I do so I just try to be me and they trusted me. Sean McDermott told me that the QB is an extension of the Head Coach so I try to be that for my guys.”

If there are days Anderson gets down on himself, he can always look up to his older brother Micah. Micah has had his own journey. He tore his ACL in seventh grade and had to bust his behind to get back where he wanted to be.

Now he is the starting linebacker, and running back, as a 10th grader. He is the inspiration that Mason needs at times. He saw the hard work Micah put in trying to get back from a torn ACL. The days when he didn’t want to grind, but did anyway.

“I saw my brother tear his ACL in 7th grade and all the work that he put in to come back from that. Even on the hard days he still had to go put in the work,” stated Anderson. “He set the standard for me and I see how good he is. He is starting RB and middle linebacker on varsity as a 10th grader. I know that for me to reach my goals I have to put in that work too.”

Working hard doesn’t bother Anderson because he loves it. He loves to compete day in and day out. He loves to go out there before school and throw with Licata. He just has the desire, the itch, to become the best there is.

The best players are putting the work in when no one else watching. They aren’t doing it for the fanfare, but doing it because they want to be the best at their position.

“l love football so throwing and working on getting better is always fun. I have been seeing QB coaches like John Kinder and Joe Licata since I was about 9-10 years old. You go there and you see other elite QB’s and what it looks like. I see how Coach Kinder works with them and I want to someday be where they are,” stated Anderson. “He trains Cole Snyder and he told me some of the stuff that Cole needed work on and how he fixed those problems. One thing Cole said to me was that he was always willing to do the things that other kids wouldn’t want to do. So I was waking up 2-3 times a week at 5am before school and would go train with Joe Licata. Then my dad would rush me home so I could shower and get to school. I am lucky to have Coach Kinder and Coach Licata to train with and I never waste a chance to throw with them.”

Anderson’s dad has been through it all. He was a standout football player growing up, and has passed it down to his boys. You would think he would be this overbearing football dad, but he’s not.

He’s a dad. He’s there rooting on his boys every time they step on field. He is there taking pictures, and videos, at the games. He doesn’t put the extra pressure on the boys to succeed. He just wants them to do the very best they can, and have the rest will fall into place.

“There were games in little league where we couldn’t block, couldn’t catch and no matter what I did it didn’t work,” stated Anderson. “But my Dad let me know that QB’s feel like that in college and the NFL. Its part of playing the position.”

With the season already over, Anderson is gearing up for next year. His goal is to make the varsity team. He sets his sights high, and as a player why wouldn’t you. It’s an important offseason for Anderson as he looks to put on more weight, and bulk up, to get ready for the pounding next year he might take if he makes the varsity team.

He has goals, and one main goal is to win a state championship with his brother.

“The first goal is always the same and Coach Kinder has drilled it into me. The online stuff, the camps, the highlights, all of that is cool but all that matters is being the best varsity starting QB I can be,” stated Anderson. “So that’s my first goal, earn the starting QB spot on varsity. I am going to keep learning more and breaking down defenses and film. I am going to work harder in the weight room this year and want to put on 15 pounds. I want to be 185 pounds by next season. Besides that, just help our team win football games. My brother and I talk about how cool it would be to win a state championship as teammates.”