Senior members of Abington’s football team spent the better of the day on Wednesday volunteering their time at the Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust in Huntingdon Valley. To view photos of the day, visit the Photo Gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/g/101211_abington_football_senior_service_day_dl#l_dl_29159_57_5_33
HUNTINGDON VALLEY – Brian Osei laughed when asked how much effort it required to dig a ditch at the Pennypack Park Preserve as part of a community service experience Wednesday.
“It doesn’t compare to our football practices,” the Ghosts’ senior captain said. “It was fun.”
Osei and 18 of his senior teammates traded in their pads for work gloves and shovels. It was their way of giving back to their community on a day designated as Service Learning Day for Abington’s senior class.
“I wanted to find something we could all do together because this is a very close-knit group, and they actually jumped at the chance,” said defensive coordinator Kevin Conlin, who along with assistant coach Greg Miller chaperoned the group. “All the seniors go out and perform five hours of community service, and I thought what better way than to do it all together.”
The service trip - arranged by Abington’s Service Learning Coordinator Mary Rodgers – was not only an opportunity to provide community service but also provided the players an opportunity to bond away from the football field.
“It’s fun,” Osei said. “I love being with my team and doing stuff like this. The community gives a lot to us, so we love to give back.”
“We’re just thinking about the community,” teammate Ray Schreiner said. “It’s a good opportunity to help out and have a day like this when we can all get along and hang out.
“We hang out outside of school – play basketball, play video games, watch football together on weekends. These guys are like my family.”
And like most families, these teammates know how to have fun.
“Free pizza for whoever eats the first worm,” shouted one of the players as he uncovered yet another earthworm.
Whether or not anyone ate a worm isn’t important. What is important is the camaraderie these players share.
“The one thing we always stress is team unity,” senior captain Chris Ruhl said. “Before every single game, our running backs coach always brings us together and talks about team unity.
“I can’t think of a better way to build team unity than what we’re doing right now.”
For at least one player, Wednesday’s service excursion to Pennypack Park was a new experience.
“This is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this – wrong choice of clothes, but it’s fun to come out with your teammates and do something together,” said senior quarterback Kenny Cropper, who was wearing shorts and sneakers. “That’s what football is about – playing together, working together.”
Cropper, a senior transfer from Cheltenham this year, acknowledged it didn’t take long to feel part of the Abington family.
“I have played with some of these guys when I was a little kid,” he said. “I was always good friends with them.
“Coming over here – it’s like a brotherhood. We do activities as a team. We’re so tight-knit, and it’s a good feeling to be part of that.”
Ignoring the damp weather and wet conditions, the players worked side by side, all the while having a good time.
“It’s really fun,” senior captain Chris Duffy said. “It brings us together. We get out here, get our minds off football, come together as a team and help the environment.
“All the hard stuff we do – this is something easy to get our minds off everything.”
Schreiner echoed that sentiment.
“It takes your mindset off football,” he said.
Perhaps it does, but apparently not for too long. Most of the players acknowledged that Friday night’s game against Pennsbury pitting the conference’s lone undefeated teams was still very much on their minds.
“That’s been in the back of my mind since the end of the Truman game last week,” Ruhl said.
“It’s still in the back of my head,” Myles Grasty said. “I can’t wait. I love the challenge.”
That being said, the senior captain acknowledged that Wednesday’s service experience was a respite of sorts from football.
“I think it’s good to get together and do something other than football before a big game,” Grasty said. “We’re all really good friends. We hang out a lot outside of school. “We’re always talking to each other, trying to get to know each other better and play hard for each other. This is kind of fun, more fun that I thought.”
Ryan Epps just might have summed it up best.
“I like football because I like doing the physical work,” said the Ghosts’ senior nose guard. “I got a lot of steam to blow off, and sometimes football is good for that. I get to push the guys around and not get in trouble for it.
“This (service trip) is good to release tension. Instead of ‘Oh my gosh, Pennsbury’ – panic, scared, sweaty, nervous palms, we’re just out here with the maroon and white having a good old time.”
And making it even better was the fact that the players were giving back to their community.
“This is a completely different experience,” Ruhl said. “I think it’s awesome. You get to see your team from a different perspective without pads on, and we’re still working just as hard as if we did have the pads on.”
A day of community service, it turns out, wasn’t a bad way to prepare for a big game, not a bad way at all.
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