It Takes a Village

The people who feed, equip, and care for the Bulldogs every week

By Like Media Team

Every Friday night, the lights come up on eleven players at a time. But long before kickoff, and long after the final whistle, a much bigger team is at work. The moms cooking dinner for 75 hungry players. The equipment crew making sure every helmet, jersey and pad is where it needs to be. The athletic trainer standing ready on the sideline for whatever the game brings.

None of them wear a Bulldogs jersey, but all of them are part of what makes Sandpoint football run.

Team Moms

Ask any team mom what the role involves and the answer is some version of the same thing: whatever needs doing.

For Molly Przybylski, whose son Grady is a senior this year, that means menus planned days in advance and preparation that starts about two hours before a meal is served. Her crew works with two Blackstone grills, a small shed for dry storage and a refrigerator and freezer in the weight room.

"It's almost like camping," she says. "It's pretty amazing how much we do without an actual kitchen."

From that setup, the team moms serve around 75 team members before cleaning up and preparing for the next meal.

Michelle Blumenberg, mother of senior Trey, has been involved since the end of her son's eighth-grade year, when another team mom asked if she would help with the freshman team. Four years later, she has stepped into more of a lead role, planning meals ahead, organizing cooking times, recruiting volunteers and coordinating donations.

"There is a lot of time and energy that goes into the football program," she says. "Everyone's role is important and we are a family."

Barbara Schriber, whose son Jack is also a senior, joined after sitting with Molly and Michelle at last year's football banquet. She points out that many fans may know the varsity players are fed after practice, but they may not realize how much planning goes into making that happen four days a week for more than 50 players.

"It would seem overwhelming," she says, "but it's a well-oiled machine."

Shanna Yarbrough, mom to senior Brock, describes a typical week as lots of teamwork and lots of cooking, and credits Michelle and Molly with keeping it all organized.

Maddison Nap began volunteering last year by helping prepare the field before games. This season, in addition to preparing team meals, she arrives early on game days to inflate balloons for the entrance arch and hang posters, then stays to help clean up. Her son, Cope, is a senior and starting at center this season.

Alex Corey, whose son is a freshman, is newer to the high school program but has been around many of the players since they first started football. She remembers them as "tiny little bobble heads just starting out" and has watched them grow into a close-knit group.

For the mothers of seniors, this season carries extra weight. Blumenberg has watched Trey play football since he was 8. Yarbrough wants to take in as much as possible during Brock's final season, while knowing another son will soon enter the program.

As Blumenberg puts it, "It takes a village to raise a family, especially one this big."

Equipment

If the team moms keep the players fed, Sandpoint football's equipment crew helps keep them suited up and ready to go.

Jarrett Robson's connection to the program dates back to 1995, when his family moved to Sandpoint. He worked as an equipment manager at Sandpoint High School from 1995 through 1997, then continued in equipment management while attending the University of Idaho from 1998 to 2004. Today, he works alongside Ryder Craemer and Sierra Myers as part of the crew.

For Robson, the appeal has always been being part of a team. His approach to the job centers on preparation, staying positive and thinking before acting. He expects players to do everything to the best of their ability, maintain a winning attitude and have their teammates' backs.

Craemer, now in his second year with the equipment crew, followed a family path of his own. His sister Ellie previously worked with the equipment crew and helped get him involved.

His responsibilities offer a glimpse at how much has to happen before a player takes the field. Game jerseys are hung and organized, assigned pants are matched with players, and uniforms are distributed before the team suits up. There are smaller details too, including putting stickers on helmets and keeping track of extra jerseys stored behind the scenes.

Game film is another priority. When the crew is short-handed, Craemer says they sometimes have to improvise, including asking an injured player to help with filming.

"We are most particular about getting film," he says, especially when there are not enough people available to cover everything that needs to be done.

His rule for the job is straightforward: "Always listen to the coaches, otherwise stuff goes wrong." Despite the stress and occasional chaos, game nights remain his favorite part.

Athletic Trainer

Leah Smith is entering her third season as Sandpoint High School's athletic trainer, a role she came to for two reasons: an interest in sports medicine and the personal impact athletic trainers had on her own life.

"Athletic training is more than just watching sports and taping," she says. "It's seeing these athletes every day, building a relationship with them, and providing healthcare access to the community in a really unique way."

Before practices and games, Smith is getting players ready through treatment, taping and rehabilitation, often while juggling several athletes at once. "From the outside it probably looks like organized chaos," she says.

During practices and games, her focus shifts to emergency management, watching for injuries and providing sideline care. Afterward comes recovery: injured players go through a full evaluation, followed by a treatment plan that may include rehabilitation at school or a referral to another provider.

Injury prevention is also a team effort. Smith credits coaches Ryan Knowles and George Yarno for the strength and conditioning program they have created for the athletes.

When an athlete is injured, one of Smith's priorities is making sure the player understands what's happening and why, and that both athletes and parents have a voice in the process. "This is high school," she says. "I want these kids to stay healthy and be able to compete for as long as they're able."

One moment from her first year at Sandpoint shows why having an athletic trainer present matters. During an away game, an athlete from the opposing team went down on the field. Smith was the only athletic trainer there. She responded to the athlete and activated emergency medical services so the player could receive further care.

Smith calls these "the emergency scenarios that we hope never happen," but when they do, having an athletic trainer present matters.

A Bigger Team

None of this shows up on a stat sheet. The meals, uniforms, helmet stickers, game film, treatments and sideline care happen largely outside the spotlight.

But the work of the team moms, equipment crew and athletic trainer is woven into nearly every practice and game. They arrive early, stay late and handle the jobs that have to be done.

So when the lights come up on Memorial Field Friday night, the team everyone sees is backed by another one working just beyond the sidelines.

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