Accountability – Super tough – Super unity – Builders of men – Never give up – has been the creed for Tumwater High School football since head coach Sid Otton first arrived in town more than four decades ago.
But it doesn’t just apply to the gridiron.
“Football is one aspect, but they want us to use the creed throughout our lives and that’s the most important thing,” senior linebacker Andrew May said. “They want us to apply this to everything we do not just on the football field – selflessness instead of selfishness. That is something people preach here a lot. It’s all about other people and not just yourself.”
May and the entire Tumwater football team – all 82 members of it – lived up to the team’s principles recently by volunteering for a day at the Thurston County Food Bank.
“They did a lot of the heavy lifting,” said Thurston County Food Bank executive director Robert Coit. “It was great. They did a lot of things in a quick amount of time and that was really helpful for us. A large majority of our volunteers are older or parents with younger children who help out on a weekend. To have a bunch of athletically-inclined young men show up was really beneficial.”
The T-Birds broke away from their annual unity camp to volunteer at the Food Bank’s new warehouse and distribution center on Mottman Road.
While the team has volunteered before, it had always been a handful of players here and there and never the full roster going to work.
The idea was sparked after Michaela Winkley, the school garden program manager at the Thurston County Food Bank, contacted long-time Tumwater trainer Leo Marty about the potential of the team volunteering.
“(The Food Bank) had some big things they needed to do at the warehouse. We talked and thought it was a great idea. It’s something we’ve actually wanted to do for quite some time now. We’ve volunteered at the food bank before, but this was everybody,” Marty said. “Sid and I talked and we figured we could fit it into the schedule during one of the two-a-days. Instead of paying money to take them bowling and watch them all order hamburgers and fries we could do something for somebody else.”
So, the squad filed into two buses and headed out to help.
“We didn’t know going in what we were going to do,” said senior linebacker Caleb Jelcick. “We ended up spreading bark, painting, detailing cars. It was grunt work, but everyone was doing their job. It was really hot outside, but everyone had a good attitude. No one was not going hard. It was awesome.”
The thermometer reached 95 on the day the team volunteered with the work pulling the players off the practice field briefly, a nice change of pace for a team that had been practicing twice a day during the week.
“It wasn’t the worst thing to happen,” said May about substituting practice in the extremely hot weather for volunteer work. “It was kind of a grind out there. The sun was beating down on us, but it was worth it. It was a good way to give back to people who really need it. It really was a great use of our time.”
It was a day’s work Jelcick believes will also benefit the T-Birds during the upcoming season.
“It shows we can trust each other. Everyone was being accountable,” Jelcick said. “The whole team is unified. We can apply this to games.”
Tumwater, which was the Class 2A state runner-up last year, opens its football season on September 2 at Franklin Pierce.
“For me this has been a dream since I started working here three years ago,” Winkley said. “I would joke with the staff that I was going to get a football team to show up and work for us, and to have this happen is such a positive thing. We now have 82 kids in the community who are now aware of what we do here. Hopefully, this will inspire them to come back or to tell a friend to volunteer. There is so much work to do and to have entire team come out and help us really is incredible.”
Groups, including high school sports teams, can support the Thurston County Food Bank through volunteer work during the week and on the weekends with the biggest events occurring in November, December, January and May. Groups are encouraged to contact the Food Bank to get more information by calling 360-352-8597 ext 107 or emailing volunteers@thurstoncountyfoodbank.org.
Volunteer shifts at the Thurston County Food Bank are also available with various tasks for individuals of all ages. Students and youth age 12 and older may volunteer without parental or custodial supervision. Youth under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
