The Nease football team held its third annual Victory Day on Friday, Dec. 7, as the Panthers invited 84 students with special needs from four area elementary schools — Cunningham Creek, Wards Creek, Timberlin Creek and Valley Ridge Academy — to participate in drills, eat lunch with the team and score some touchdowns.
While Nease players and coaches taught the young students the basics of passing, tackling, kicking and running routes, it’s what the students teach the team that makes the event so special, said Nease coach Tim Krause.
“For our kids to interact with people who go through life with different challenges than the average high school kid I think is impactful for them,” Krause said. “I hope it’s something they’ll carry with them through life when they graduate high school, that they’ll have a heart for service and a heart for people who have disabilities or challenges.”
Krause suggested the event to the school several years ago after finding out about similar events taking place at a few schools in Michigan. The athletic department and the district office at Nease were very much on board with the idea.
“They’ve just been a huge help getting everything set up with the teachers and the schools,” Krause said, “and each year over the three years, we’ve made it a lot larger, and hopefully been able to impact more kids.”
Krause said he was also inspired by school employees who work with the kids nearly every day.
“I love seeing how compassionate the people who work with these children are,” he said. “The teachers, how much heart they have for these kids, and what they do for them on a daily basis is the part that always blows me away.”
The event also made an impact on the Jacksonville Jaguars, who decided to show their support for Krause’s endeavor. Former NFL player Marcus Pollard, who currently serves as director of player development and youth football for the Jaguars, attended the event to cheer on his 10-year-old daughter, Ayris, and to surprise Krause with two tickets to Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.
“We got together as the youth football staff for the Jaguars and decided we wanted to award two tickets, not just to a coach who has won a state championship or did some things in the community, but we thought this had a special interest,” Pollard said. “It’s not just because I have a special needs daughter, but to see the impact that he’s making on special needs kids, and the excitement they have here.”
Pollard also got to help his daughter score a touchdown to the cheers of the crowd. The former Colts tight end said while the event was recognized for its impact on the community and kids with special needs in the area, it was particularly special to him as a parent.
“Personally, it means the world to me,” Pollard said. “I don’t often get a chance to experience her extracurricular activities, and to be a part of this and being a former football player, to see my daughter out here engaging in a sport that I played for such a long time is very rewarding and exciting.”
Krause said he didn’t expect the recognition but appreciated the gesture.
“I was pretty shocked,” he said. “It was terribly generous that they do that for the community, and I’m really honored that they picked us and our program.”
While the event is primarily about giving the young students a chance to have fun and let loose, Nease’s players also get the chance to score some extra points in their coach’s eyes.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for both our kids and for the participants,” Krause said. “I think the kids who come from the elementary schools have a great time and they get out of school and get to run around. And for me as a coach, I get to see the heart that our kids have and how generous they can be. They put down the cool high-school guy persona for a while, and it just reminds you so much what great kids they are.”
