Braves focus on community outreach
<p>Larry Norstedt, with his dog Leo, jokes with Flathead High School football players as they help load up his possessions Friday afternoon for his move to Polson on Friday, in Kalispell. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>The Flathead Braves football team helps Larry Norstedt load up his possessions for his move to Polson on Friday, in Kalispell. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
A small group of teenagers did their part Friday to help a neighbor in need. Those teenagers just happened to be wearing Flathead football jerseys.
As part of a new initiative to get the team involved in community service, new Flathead football coach Kyle Sampson and 10 of his players helped Kalispell’s Larry Norstedt move to Polson from his retirement community on the west side of town.
Norstedt, who has no family in the area, needed help moving after his original arrangements fell through. He approached Braves senior Alex Croymans and his family about helping and they got the team involved.
“I thought that was a pretty good idea,” Croymans said. “I think it’s really good to get our name out there in a positive way. We don’t want to seem like we’re just jocks and we come around to play football. We like putting a good name out there in the community.”
Sampson told the team and their families in a parent meeting after he was hired this spring that he would like the team to regularly do community service. He would like to do something once a week this summer and already has plans to help a few charites.
“If we’re going to be really good on the football field, we’re going to be good off the field,” Sampson said.
“Our kids are going to be great in the classroom and great in the community. We’re just trying to help out any way we can with different things this summer, really show the town of Kalispell we’re not just here to play football, we want to give back to our community and support any way possible.”
The volunteer projects also help to bring the team together as it tries to prepare for the coming football season.
“It only can bring us closer,” Sampson said.
“It helps kids understand you don’t always have to expect something for doing something. I think it makes them feel good about what they’re doing. It doesn’t hurt us to try and build and bond our team every week and try to become a closer team and a closer family.”