U.P. High School Football Programs Get Donations

The U.P. Football All-Star Game continued its giving ways by announcing that sixteen U.P. high school football teams will receive donations from the game this year.  The following twelve football programs will each receive one thousand dollars, which can be used for anything that benefits the football program: Calumet, Cedarville, Forest Park, Gladstone, Hancock, Iron Mountain, Ishpeming, Kingsford, Marquette, Munising, North Central and Pickford.

 

“When this game was started, it was always a goal that we would eventually be able to donate directly to all of the high school football programs throughout the U.P.  Next year, we will finally achieve that goal, and that is due to the tremendous support that the U.P. communities have given this event over the years.”, said organizer Todd Goldbeck.

 

The schools are picked at random each year.  Once a school has been selected, that school will be removed from the lottery until all other schools have been chosen once.  Every U.P. football program will get an equal donation from the all-star game, in the amount of one thousand dollars.  Once all schools have received the donation, the process will start over again.

 

“The lottery is a fun way to select the schools”, said Goldbeck.  “Every program is eligible, and it does not matter how successful the team is; everyone has a chance and gets a turn.  It is very important that all U.P. programs are supported, so that each school can maintain a competitive team.  That is what the U.P. Football All-Star Game is all about.  Because All-Star Week could not take place this year, we were able to donate to many more schools.  I hope that the donations will help their football programs in a positive way for what is sure to be a difficult upcoming year.”

 

“This game would not be possible without the schools providing a positive environment for all of these student-athletes to succeed.  Giving back to their football programs will help each school continue their individual football tradition”, states Goldbeck.

 

The football team of each school may choose to use the money in any number of ways. Equipment, weight room and uniforms are just a few places that the school may decide will be the most effective use of the funds.

 

In addition to the twelve schools selected, the Black and Red All-Star head coaches received half of the footballs that were to be used during the week leading up to the game.  There are 24 new footballs each year, so both All-Star head coaches (Andy Crouch-Lake Linden-Hubbell and Iffer Marshall-St. Ignace) were given 12 brand new footballs.

 

Also, all of the practice jerseys are donated to U.P. football programs. There was a full set of royal blue jerseys that went to Superior Central High School, and the purple jerseys were given to L’Anse High School. The practice jerseys have the school name printed on them and are their school colors, so they can be used by the schools right away, without any further additions to the jerseys.

 

Other donations included a monetary donation to the U.P. Sports Hall of Fame to sponsor an annual scholarship for one of the All-Star players and Bay Cliff Health Camp, which are two organizations that operate on contributions from the community.

 

“When the game is over, I always want to be in a position to say, ‘The All-Star Game did very well again this year. That means we gave back to many different groups/schools and the players had fun throughout the week, while also reinforcing some important life lessons they can take with them moving forward in their lives.’  This year did not allow the players to have the same life-changing experiences as past groups, but they have been receiving their own life lessons that will no doubt shape the way they go into the world.  Despite all the setbacks, the U.P. Football All-Star Game was able to give some much-needed donations again this year.”

 

Next year’s game is set for Saturday, June 26, 2021.