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Band of brothers

North Woods football squad focuses on team, family

Tom Klein
Posted 10/31/14

FIELD TWP – They call themselves a Band of Brothers.

It emphasizes family and teamwork to the North Woods football squad, which remains undefeated this season heading into today’s Section 7 …

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Band of brothers

North Woods football squad focuses on team, family

Posted

FIELD TWP – They call themselves a Band of Brothers.

It emphasizes family and teamwork to the North Woods football squad, which remains undefeated this season heading into today’s Section 7 championship game.

“That’s been our attitude since Cook and Orr came together in the North Woods School,” said Grizzlies Head Coach John Jirik. “It doesn’t matter if you live in Bear River, Crane Lake, Nett Lake, Cook or Orr, you’re part of the Band of Brothers. We’re one family.”

The same spirit was cited by Old Dutch Foods when the company recently selected the North Woods football team as its High School Team of the Week.

Prior to each game, team members line up outside the school, join hands and march methodically to the field. “Their focus, determination and desire to move as one Grizzly family resonates with every step they take,” the company stated in its press release announcing the honor.

It’s an attitude that permeates their actions off the field, as well.

“Believe it or not, our goal was never about how many wins we can get,” said Coach Jirik. “Our three objectives are to do the best you can in school, be model students and be model citizens.”

Assistant Coach Jeff Chaulkin echoes that view. “Our goal is to be good role models; it’s not about winning or losing.”

When team members learned that player Matthew Schultz’s mother Karen was diagnosed with breast cancer, they wore pink socks to the next game and dedicated the game to her.

The following week when classmate Bridget Villebrun was diagnosed with cancer, team members decided to dedicate the next game to her and wore green socks to demonstrate their support. In a unique twist, team members decided to wear one pink and one green sock to honor both women in their brave battles against cancer.

Family has also played a role in pregame preparation, hosting a spaghetti dinner for the team the night before each game.

Melissa Snidarich, mother of junior offensive tackle Garrett Snidarich, said they even put on an extra special dinner for Homecoming week, adding chicken and meatballs to the traditional spaghetti dinner and bringing in a special cake for the meal.

The football mothers also got matching sweat shirts, declaring them as “photo-taking, statistics-posting” football moms.

The group is planning to bring candy to today’s game for youngsters who may miss out on trick-or-treating on Halloween by attending the game. “We’re going to have candy to pass out to kids at our tailgate party before the game,” explained Snidarich, who dubbed the event “trunk or treating.”

Shannon Martin, mother of senior quarterback Cole Martin, said the events help stress the sense of family on the team. Chaulklin said team members look forward to those pregame meals and it helps build a sense of camaraderie.

Jirik said the support from fans and parents has been phenomenal and said team members have taken the initiative in gestures such as wearing the pink and green socks to honor those fighting cancer.

“Coaches can push those things, but it’s better when it comes from the team members because it comes from their hearts,” he said.

The football team’s seniors also have played a key role in shaping the team’s attitude this season, according to Jirik.

“We have extremely strong leaders in our seniors,” said Jirik, who said their example both on and off the field filters down to the younger players and helps ensure a bright future for the team.

Chaulklin said the team listens to coaches but it’s also a two-way street. “They’ll come off the field and tell us things we might not be seeing so we can make adjustments in our game plan,” he said.

“It’s an honor to be coaching these kids,” said Chaulklin, who also cited the contributions of a bevy of volunteer coaches including Jared Bangs, who played college and high school football; Dave Shuster, Kevin Villebrun, Dusty Gabrielson and Scott Schultz. “Our hearts soar like hawks when we’re around these kids.”

Despite being the third-ranked football team in nine-man football and the No. 1 seed in Section 7, the Grizzlies have gotten little attention from the larger media markets in the region.

But the lack of recognition hasn’t mattered to the Grizzlies, who have mowed down their opponents with their stingy defense and mastery of the running game.

“We’re just focused on being the best we can be,” said Jirik.