Funded Oct 18, 2018First off, thank you for your generous donation towards our project. The dry-fit tops you bought for us have been screen printed and made into genuine George Washington High School practice jerseys. The boys have decided to make a team policy of wearing the practice jersey to school on game days, and they also wear them while warming up for each game. The first game they did this, the pride they felt in their new team gear was noticeable, and the sense of professionalism they garnered from the shirts resulted in a particularly focused warm up. Since then, they have continued to bring this focus to our pregame rituals, and there has been a notable improvement in the way we start games because of this.
When the boys first saw the practice jerseys at the team meeting where when we handed them out, there was tangible excitement. First off, the captains immediately began coordinating a plan to wear them on game days in order to show team unity in advance of each contest. Also, you could tell some of the less experienced players who have not been on an organized team before ours found the shirts especially significant. One player told me later how that was the moment he felt he was really part of a team, instead of just playing soccer with his friends after school.
Since distributing our practice jerseys, we've continued to work hard in practice to try to build a style on the field that is both pleasing to watch and effective on winning games. This requires a lot focus, hard work, and professionalism in practice, which as I mentioned has noticeably increased since distributing the practice jerseys. Also, it requires our players to both support one another to trust one another on the field, and support each other when mistakes are inevitably made. All of these things require a strong team community and sense of togetherness throughout the team. Your purchase of the practice jerseys for our team has been a key building block in establishing this community, so thank you for providing the boys with a tangible reminder of the team community they are a part of this season.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Popalisky