Grove City High School Football Team Community Service

You may have seen some high school boys helping with Earth Day clean-up or shoveling driveways during a school snow day. Chances are, they are a part of the Grove City High School football team.

Made up of more than 120 players between the varsity and the freshman team, the Grove City High School football program is active both on and off the field.

With a community that rallies behind them every Friday night, the team works to give back the support they get every week. Through their strong bonds on and off the field, the team hopes to not only have a season with high scores but one filled with giving as well.

Building up the team

Courtesy of South Western City Schools

Having grown up in Grove City, Head Coach Greg Waits has a deep love for the community.

Between his time both as a player and a coach, Waits has been part of the football program for about 35 years.

Since becoming head coach, he and the other coaches have made community service a priority for the team. They help facilitate and encourage the team to give back to their community.

His focus is not only shaping them as athletes but also preparing them for life beyond the team.

“I love our kids. We have a great group of kids, just coming out and helping the community,” says Waits. “Our kids thrive on it. We don’t even have to beg them to do it. They want to do it.”

Strong bonds

Courtesy of Grove City High School Football Team

Many of the players on the team grew up playing football together, which has strengthened their bond with each other.

“I think we’ve all played together since like first grade. We were all on the same team. That’s unique. We’ve grown up playing together. It’s crazy,” says Welsh.

The bond between teammates goes far beyond the game. Many players on the team refer to it as brotherhood. Even with their busy practice and game schedule, the players make time to hangout outside of football whether it’s grabbing a bite to eat after practice, going to the pool or giving back to their community.

“We always spend a lot of time together in and out of football. So, we have a really good bond. Kind of like being a big family,” says Adrovet.

The players are not only building their team off the field, but they are also determined to continue strengthening the team on the field for this season and the future ones to come.

“We are building every year and getting better every year. We are looking to do our best,” says Adrovet.

The support the team gets each week motivates them to keep working hard and the players are very thankful for it.

“That means everything, you know, having the city behind your back and they’re always supporting us, so just playing your heart out every Friday,” says Welsh.

Making an impact

Courtesy of South Western City Schools

During the off-season, the team makes the most out of their time by doing community projects.

The players have taken part in a wide range of projects for the community such as shoveling driveways and working youth football camps.

“We had this team thing where the whole team split up into six different teams and you had all season captains for each team. And so, the captains had to set up different volunteer things,” says Merz. “Some teams went out to the food banks, some went out to the elderly home, so a lot of things like that.”

One of the favorite projects among the players are the visits to StoryPoint Senior Living to see Gary Leasure, who helped make it possible for Grove City High School to have a turf field. The team’s field was named after him, Leasure Field.

Visiting the elementary schools and working the youth football camps is another project that stands out to many of the players. Many remember being in the same shoes and take pride in supporting the future of the football program.

“I remember being a little kid and we used to come out here on this field and all the players used to hype up all the kids. And I remember scoring and all the people hyping you up. So, doing that again for them is just a lot of fun,” says Merz.

Waits is proud of how passionate the team has become about helping their community. He loves seeing how excited the players are about their favorite service projects.

“I’ve had several people come up to me and our other coaches just talking about how thankful they are for the players and thanking us for what they’re doing for the community,” says Waits.

The team is excited to continue their involvement and help the community with future projects.