Jefferson City football players lift trash, not weights

Posted: 02.04.2009 at 5:10 PM

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JEFFERSON CITY -- Jefferson City High football coaches have come up with a new way to train their players. They make them clean up the cafeteria tables after breakfast and lunch. But coaches and players both say its not a punishment for bad grades or a fumbled ball. It's about becoming a better person.

On any given school day, lunchtime is a rush at Jefferson City High School. But the past two weeks there's been a different sight: young Jays in their football red and black cleaning up after their classmates.

"I have to believe that at first it might not have been your favorite project," I said to Jefferson City football player Trent Kay.

"Yeah, it wasn't," Kay said. "But our coaches thought it would be a good idea if we started helping out the school and our community around. And we're not complaining about it. We just get it done and go on to class."

Trent and his teammates push in chairs and throw away trash that's left on the tables and floor. One player says its a way to show he's more than a letterjacket.

"Seeing that we're not just football players, jocks...that we can actually do something to help," says football player Kaleb Davis.

Jefferson City teacher and football coach Kevin Aalewine gave head football coach Ted LePage the idea, and he ran with it.

"First of all, we are here to make better people," said LePage. "And the second thing is, a lot of our players don't know what its like to be gracious. And I think our society doesn't know what its like to be gracious. So we decided to put in some community service."

I asked Coach LePage if he and his players have heard any thank yous from the kitchen staff, custodians, or even the faculty and students. He says they have, but that that's not the point.

"To be honest, that's not the objective and that is not of our concern," said LePage. "Our concern is making sure our players are choosing to be a leader. And a leader is sometimes doing things that may not be the popular thing to do. And in this situation, its hard to go in front of your peers and pick stuff up."

LePage says his team had a great chemistry on the field last season. And LePage believes doing new things together, like this clean-up project, only makes that chemistry better. He says that then leads to a stronger football team.