FEDERAL HILL, Md. — Within the last 2 years, Digital Harbor High School’s football program has more than doubled in size, from around 30 players to almost 80.
But since the team grew so fast, the school realized it had problems.
There are simply not enough helmets for everyone.
Elijah Johnson has been playing football for Digital Harbor for four years, but he says he thinks this year will be the best one yet.
One of the reasons, he says, is the brand new coaching staff.
“We asked for a change in the culture here at Digital. You know, I've been here my whole life pretty much, and it feels nice. I feel ready for the new season. I’m excited. I’ve seen a lot of change happen since he has been here, and I’m proud of the work that we put in so far," says Johnson.
Another reason is the number of players on the team keeps rising each year.
“A lot of kids are wanting to come out; kids that used to play want to play again; kids coming up from JV man, so it’s been a lot of kids, a lot of freshman, that showed a lot of interest, so yes, we’re definitely excited about that," says head coach Craig Rollins.
Trent Johnson is also in his senior year of playing for the team; he says having more people on the field and at practice makes the team feel more alive than before.
“I feel good because last year we didn’t really have that many players for real, but now we came a long way to get where we’re at now,” says Trent Johnson.
But all of the growth revealed a problem: there simply aren’t enough helmets for every player.
“We basically ran out, you know, so at this point we have 60 something helmets, but we’re sitting on about 74 kids, to be exact, so we have some kids waiting for helmets at the moment, so once they get their helmets, they will get an opportunity to play," says coach Rollins.
So assistant coach Zac Blanchard, who is also the president of the Federal Hill Neighborhood Association, created a GoFundMe asking the neighborhood for help.
The team needed $7,700 to buy new helmets; each helmet costs the team $420.
Mahki West says he is glad the coaches decided to try to get new helmets rather than cutting players from the team.
“We want everyone to feel like they are included into the program; we want everyone to feel good and we want everyone to feel protected; and we want everybody to have a good time while they are out there," says West.
48 hours and 52 donations later, the team got its answer.
The community is jumping at the chance to help this team in time for the new season.
“It takes a village; the fact that this community is pouring into this school says a lot because it shows us that they care about the children," says coach Rollins.
Since the team was able to get the entire donation so fast, the team will now have helmets for each player in time for the first official game of the season, which is set for the first week of September.
