The hardest working member of the No. 4-ranked high school football team in Arizona isn’t the decorated head coach or four-star recruit. His service ensures the Chandler Wolves coaching staff and players have everything they need to prepare to win. More importantly, his relentless positivity helps make the program feel like a family.

 

Meet Sterling Kriser, a 32-year-old autistic volunteer assistant in charge of field management and logistics. Kriser arrives two hours before every practice to set up cones, blocking sleds, tackling dummies, and every other piece of training equipment required of an elite high school football team.

 

“He's there for everybody,” defensive line coach John Goodie said. “He's the hardest working guy on the football field. I've always told him that. And I've always said that to the other coaches. He doesn't do the football stuff, the X's and O's, but there’s a saying that it takes a village and he's a part of that village unseen.”

 

Chandler practices in the late afternoons when the temperatures are north of 100 degrees from August to October. Kriser runs across the field throughout every session with water and Gatorade to ensure players and coaches are hydrated and able to train.

 

“Every day, man, he's a huge part of what we're doing,” offensive coordinator Chad Carpenter said. “We couldn't do it without him, put it that way. I would have probably had a friggin heatstroke without him. He brings water every day. He looks out for me so much.”

 

Kriser’s true impact on the team goes far beyond his job responsibilities.

 

“He brings joy every day,” Carpenter said. “He never has a bad day. He always looks out for everybody. He treats everybody like they're his best friend. You look forward to seeing him. There's days where I’m like, ugh, we have practice. And I see Sterling. Oh, my God, this dude has a great attitude, I need to be better.”

 

His kindness motivates others around him. And by managing the logistics of practice, the staff can focus on coaching. But that’s only half the picture.

 

The other side to Kriser’s story is everything that football gives back to him. His job helps him manage some of the challenges that individuals with autism experience.

 

“For people with autism, everything is about structure,” Sterling’s father, Sam Kriser, said. “You have to read up on it to understand that more. When there’s no football, now all of a sudden that structure is gone. It’s almost like a big letdown for him.”

 

The end of the season is difficult for Kriser because football gives him community and a routine. Fortunately, spring practices and summer football camps help Kriser get through the offseason.

 

“I help with the camp we run every year,” Kriser said. “I do seven-on-seven and then get ready for the season again. It's a routine I have to get into. I come to practice on time and stay in the routine to keep my mindset straight. The coaches need me to get the field set up and I want to make sure it's done properly.”

Sterling Kriser (right) with Chandler defensive line coach John Goodie . Kriser was the first person to welcome Goodie when he joined the program. The two have a close friendship. (Shannon Liebrock photo/Liebrock Photography)Chandler football is Kriser’s life and his purpose. His passion for the game started when Kriser was 13-years-old growing up in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The sport helped Kriser overcome classmates that gave him a hard time.

 

Kriser has three siblings, two of whom also have autism. The three children sometimes dealt with bullying.

 

“It was unfortunately the survival of the fittest,” Sam Kriser said. “Darwinism theory is somewhat there when you think about it. They were the easy targets. It was difficult because Sterling loves everybody. If you get to know him well, you'll know that he has a passion and love for everybody.”

 

Kriser stopped fighting his own battles when he became a volunteer assistant with the Rio Rancho High School football team in seventh grade.

 

“The people who tried to bully him got hurt by the football players,” Sam Kriser said. “Sterling was off-limits. One bully learned the hard way and got thrown into a locker.”

 

Kriser worked for the team for eight more years throughout high school and an additional four years of life-skills training. He excelled as a volunteer assistant and developed a close bond with former Rio Ranch High School football coach David Howes.

 

“Sterling is one of the most special people on this planet,” Howes said in an interview with the New Mexico Observer in 2014. “He loves his team and his teammates like he would his own brothers.”

 

Rio Rancho High School honored Kriser by creating the Sterling Award, which is given annually to somebody for their volunteer work in the community.

 

His influence on the local football community extended outside the Rio Rancho program. The Albuquerque Football Officials Association gave Kriser an honorary lifetime membership for his dedicated support to referees and exemplary sportsmanship.

 

“You know something,” Sam Kriser said, “that kid has done more in a short time than most people ever will accomplish in a lifetime.”

 

After Rio Rancho, Kriser worked for the New Mexico Stars, a professional indoor football team within the Lone Star Football League (LSFL) and later the American Indoor Football (AIF).

Sterling Kriser helps fire up Chandler Wolves fans and players on game day.(Shannon Liebrock photo/Liebrock Photography)Then the Kriser family moved to Chandler in 2014 to return to the home state of his mother, Dorcas Kriser. Sam and Dorcas quickly sought opportunities for Sterling to volunteer with a new football program. But it wasn’t an easy process.

Kriser’s persistence paid off, especially for former Wolves football coach Shane Aguano. After Kriser joined the program prior to the start of the 2017 season, the coaches soon realized that they didn’t know what to do without him.

 

“Let me tell you, that is an unsung hero,” Goodie said. “And when he's not at practice, for some reason, it's like, oh my God, Sterling isn't here. And that's when people really start panicking. Sterling’s not here so we have to get the keys, and somebody else has to get this and get that.”

 

Goodie is one of the many people within the program that has a close relationship with Kriser.

 

“He was really the first one to welcome me onto the team,” Goodie said. “I kind of begged my way onto the coaching staff. He was one of the guys that would come up and say, ‘Oh, hi coach Goodie.’ He's been my friend for a long, long time.”

 

Kriser makes an effort to be inclusive towards all guests who visit practice.

 

“When scouts come from Ohio State, or wherever,” Goodie said, “guess who’s the first one they get to meet. Sterling will go over there and say, ‘hi,’ and ask them where they’re from. We've had guys from Oregon and UCLA, over the years, come out, and stand on the sidelines. Sterling is the first one to go over to them and say, ‘Hi, my name is Sterling, and that's Coach G over there.’ I see Sterling talking to the scouts. And next thing I know he's pointing to coaches or players. And they might ask, ‘Well, who is so and so?’ Sterling is pointing to them like the greeter.”

 

The fans and students who attend Chandler football games are also embraced with a warm welcome from Kriser.

 

“I love firing up the crowd,” Kriser said. “I make sure they're ready to go.”

 

He also ensures that the players are set to take the field on game days. Kriser gives the captains team flags to run out with when the Wolves are introduced by the PA announcer.

 

Throughout the game, Kriser continues his hype-man role on the sidelines. He screams, “Let’s go Chandler!” towards the crowd and motions his arms to encourage fans to get louder. When the defense recovers a fumble or makes an interception, Kriser celebrates with the players and waves the oversized turnover chain around his neck.

 

Kriser also adorns a black cowboy hat and sunglasses, an homage to coach Goodie’s signature western style and their special friendship.

 

“He wants to serve and make people's days better,” Goodie said. “He always tells me, ‘coach Goodie, I got your back. I just want you to know, I got your back.’ You really appreciate it.”

 

Kriser’s commitment to his colleagues is reciprocated by the coaches and players who support him. It’s what makes Chandler football more than a team.

 

“We always talk about ohana here, our family,” receivers coach Collin Bottrill said. “Sterling's been a part of the family. I treat him like a little brother, even as a son as far as the way I try to teach him how to do things. I show him how to do things the right way and be consistent about it, which is part of our culture.”

 

Chandler coaches emphasize the importance of culture. Those standards helped the Wolves win six state championships from 2014 to 2020.

 

Despite the victories, the relationships are what Kriser loves most about the program.

 

“Football is a game of life,” Kriser said. “This team is a family and we all want to be one family here at Chandler High School.”

 

Kriser’s symbiotic relationship with the team serves as a shining example of the team’s ohana ethos. He is as much of a Chandler Wolf as any player or coach.