NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
The Monsignor McCoy Colts enjoy a team meal last Friday, the night before their game on Saturday. This has been a long time routine of the Colts to ensure their players are fed and can spend some time together.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
It’s more than just a football team with the McCoy Colts.
They’re a family.
The Colts have continued a tradition of the night before games or the night before travel, all gathering for a dinner. Not just some takeout food either, the meals are cooked by parents or members of the Colts’ booster club.
“At least we know everybody is eating at least once before the game,” Sam Brooks-Kirsch, Colts’ manager said. “Teenagers are fun right, sometimes they eat sometimes they don’t.”
She says the parents all work together in a group chat to organize the meals. The menu is posted in the chat and people comment on what they can bring, all at the cost of the parents. Some weeks she says the meals are all covered immediately and other weeks the Booster club picks up the responsibility.
It’s a family operation for Brooks-Kirsch.
“We call it the step family because Eagle Butte and here (McCoy). So we have two different schools and it all just works … they don’t sit school to school or anything,” she said.
Sausage, pirogies, salad and chocolate milk were on the menu last Friday, the day before the Colts’ game in Airdrie.
For Jaxon Degenhardt, a former Colt and coach with McCoy’s junior team, these dinners were everything to him when he played.
“It helps the team bond before games. I’ve always been a big advocate to team bonding. I have celiac disease so I couldn’t eat what they were making but I would still try my best to come when I could because it’s a good chance to talk with teammates, get to know each other,” he said.
Degenhardt was a Colt from 2018 until last year when he graduated. He says these team meals were something he looked forward to alongside playing football.
“The camaraderie of football is an amazing part of it and I’ve always believed in a tight team. Playing and those life long relationships go hand in hand,” Degenhardt said.
These meals have gone on for as long as Brooks-Kirsch can remember in her six years as manager. The meals were able to continue last year and this year with COVID. There were a lot of steps last season that made it difficult but aren’t in effect this season.
“It all had to be pre-packaged. Parents still bought it but they would have to bring the salad in the container and we would have to wash the container to mix it, it was just a gong show,” she said.
This season they all follow COVID protocols but parents can cook the food instead of having to buy pre-packaged meals.
McCoy lost their game last Saturday in Airdrie 10-3. Head coach Darrel Grass said his team has to work on some mistakes.
“We are inexperienced and we are making mistakes. If we keep on getting better every day, cut out our mistakes, we will be a very good football team,” Grass Said.
The team meal before this week’s game on Saturday against Taber is, a ‘meal in a pan’ casserole with salad, plus chocolate milk, juice and water.
