CELEBRATING OUR BIGGEST CHEERLEADERS
Team Moms
BY TAYLOR SHILLAM
F
or young athletes, support can take many forms. For the Sandpoint High School football team, one of the greatest, most dedicated sources of support is a group of devoted parents known as the Team Moms.
This season, a total of 13 Team Moms, the highest number the football team has ever seen, helps drive morale, camaraderie and energy amongst players, parents and coaches alike. Pooling their time and resources throughout the season, Team Moms provide a constant supportive presence for the team in the form of homemade meals, fundraising events, decorating the field and lockers at home games, and much more. “We’re basically a support system within the coaching staff,” shared Carolyn McCorkle, who has taken lead of the program in her last year as a Team Mom. Her grandson, Luke McCorkle, is a senior this year, marking Carolyn’s third and final year with the group. The Team Moms’ support begins even before the start of the football season, at the team’s biggest fundraiser, a golf tournament and silent auction that takes place every July. All proceeds from
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the annual event go toward supporting the team, helping to feed the kids, cover camp costs and provide any needed supplies. When the first weeks of August arrive and the team’s practice routine begins, Team Moms start providing meals for the players, starting with prepared lunches and progressing to add evening means as the season progresses. The daily meals consist of hamburgers, tacos, teriyaki chicken, pulled pork and steak dinners. Coach Ryan Knowles’ motto is, “A team that eats together, plays together.” And eat together they do, between the Thursday dinners before game nights, light lunches on Fridays, and snacks during practices and games, thanks to the Team Moms. To manage the football team’s growing player count, Coach Knowles has separated players into sub-teams according to age. Each sub-team of about 10 to 12 kids has its own name, with titles like War Dogs, Spartan Dogs, Hound Dogs and Mad Dogs, each with its own assigned Team Mom. Outside of the team’s fundraising efforts, a significant portion of the funding that supports the football programs is provided by
