Caleb Ross understands how to bring his football players together—and he attributes much of that to summer 7on7s.

The newly minted Opelika (Ala.) head coach and former McGill-Toolen (Mobile, Ala.) head coach was a guest of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast recently.

Ross shared that he believes that teams need to learn to thrive in pressure situations, and that 7on7s create a fun and competitive environment to do just that.

“I think that’s one thing that the 7on7 does is it creates competition for kids,” Ross said. “You see a lot of successful teams, they get into pressure situations. Maybe they get into a big playoff game and they just can’t handle the moment. The kids aren’t used to playing with that type of pressure. Well, how do you deal with that? To me the only way is just to do it over and over and over.”

To Ross, the repetition that comes with 7on7 will help his athletes in the long run, especially when it comes to the positions that focus more on skills than strength.

“If you’re going to throw the football, I think you got to invest in 7on7,” Ross said. “You got to be realistic, it’s not real football from a blocking and tackling standpoint but it is competition and it is reaction and if you’re going to throw the football, then the timing of the quarterback and getting the ball out and receivers catching it I think is really critical.”

7on7s not only provide Ross’s team with an opportunity to gel on the field, but an opportunity to bond off the field as well.

RELATED: Sign up for a USA Football 7on7 event

At the USA Football 7on7 national championship last year, Ross watched as his McGill-Toolen squad built relationships away from the field.

“What we’ve always enjoyed about it is we’ve gone away to tournaments where in it, your team really bonds,” Ross said. “When you stay overnight in a hotel and you eat team meals together, it brings guys together.”

Throughout his years of coaching, Ross has realized the importance of players playing for each other, not themselves, something that his experience in 7on7 events has fostered.

“At the end of the day, if they play for one another, the guys in the locker room – if you create that, create where they believe in one another, that’s the team that will go farther than other teams,” he said.

It seemed to pay off for McGill-Toolen in 2016, as the team reached the state finals for the second consecutive year.

Ross now will look to build the foundation for a similar level of comradery at Opelika, starting with the USA Football/ALFCA 7on7 championship in June.