Sticker collections get thicker

Comments (...)

Morris football players Kevin Henry (left) and Jordan Bruyn have numerous stickers on their helmets. All three area teams still in the playoffs, including the Redskins, Cpa; City and Minooka, award players different stickers for different reasons. (Herald photo by Adam Nekola — anekola@morrisdailyherald.com)

E-mail this story

Print this story

Comments

Share

Take a good look at them and you'll know right away that it's a badge of honor. Similar to a notch on the belt of a gunslinger in the old west.

In similar fashion, high school football players in the modern era look upon them with pride as a symbol of success at either the individual or the team level, something which the old-time leatherheads never experienced quite the same way.

Gander out on the local gridirons these days and you'll see it. That which represents hard work and dedication to the team in a tangible form which resides on their helmets.

Smudge and scrape marks aside, look down at any of the local football players today and you will see, on their helmets, battle marks. Insignias and stamps of approval from their fellow coaches and teammates in the form of stickers which sit right next to either a Redskins, Coalers or Indians logo.

In all three cases they are a sign of success and victory.

Morris defensive lineman Kevin Henry perhaps sums it up best when talking about the modern day helmet stickers.

"Basically, the better you play, the more stickers you get. It's something to show that you had a good game. But it's only given out after victories," he said. "But it's not like a motivational thing for us, it's not like we're playing to get the stickers, but we do get them."

At both Morris and Coal City, the stickers represent achievement at the individual and team levels. In Minooka, the time-honored tradition is simply a symbol of team unity.

"We all get together after practice and they read off the touchdowns first. Say Bobby (Kroeger) got a touchdown the week before. We'll all give a power clap in recognition," Coal City offensive lineman Christian Smith said. "It's a way in which we congratulate each other. It's fun because it's a way for the team to come together after a win and celebrate."

"We get our stickers based on the goals we've achieved," Minooka lineman Tim Wright said. "But our ultimate goal is to win and if we don't win, it doesn't matter if we achieve our goals."

"Everyone on the team gets the 'V' sticker for a win. If we score a touchdown or you are on the field for a touchdown, you get a hatchet. If you are the leading rusher or receiver or are the player of the game, you get a star," Morris senior Danny Niewinski said. "And there are others. We go off of a sheet and then we look at the stats after the game to determine who gets them. The stickers are also colored with the white ones going to the special teams, the black ones are for the defense and the yellow ones are for the offense."

Coal City does not color coordinate its stickers.

"We've done it in all the years I've been here. We give out the stickers with the skull and cross bones and we hand them out on Skull Night, the day before a game after our last walk through," Coal City coach Lenny Onsen said.

Ultimately, what happens at presentation time is that there is a ceremony. For Minooka, it comes the day after the game during a film study.

"We have our meeting right before films on Saturday morning," Wright said.

For Morris and Coal City, those honors are bestowed after the final walk through the night before a game.

"Usually we give them out the day before a game when we have our walk throughs," Niewinski said. "During the season it was on Thursdays, but now that we're in the playoffs, we do it on Friday."

Regardless of how and when they are given out, those stickers mean something. In the end, it means a victory and the team gets to keep on playing.

"It's all about the team and not the individual right now," Wright said.

And in the end, the cost of the stickers doesn't mean anything in comparison to the cost of the time the kids put into making their team something each community can be proud of.

"There has been a lot of people out there who have given up on us but I just want them to know that none of us have given up," Niewinski said. "There's plenty more stickers to be handed out in the next three weeks."

Comments