I've been slowly compiling a large number of inspirational stories, some that are so heart-warming they almost make me tear up. It's my goal to share them in the hopes that people don't forget just how much sports helps, and changes, and inspires people for the better.
When facing a budget crisis, few schools would ever choose to take the calculated gamble of starting a football team to raise money. It's an incredibly high-risk, high-reward strategy, and if it failed, not only would the school close, but jobs would be lost and, in the case of Gracemont, a place with a population of 336, a town would die.
As Melissa Segura first reported, Gracemont, a small, rural town in Oklahoma, did just that. To summarize her article (please read her article for greater detail):
In May 2010, Jeremy Scott was a new arrival in Gracemont, Okla. Scott was born and raised in Texas, and Texas was where he coached high school football, leading Gainesville High to the 2003 state title. After the championship win, Scott moved with his wife to her home state of Oklahoma.
He thought he would be finished with football but after sitting through numerous staff meetings about declining attendance and a $200,000 budget shortfall, he proposed starting a football program as an act of desperation.
At the height of the Great Recession, a football program was probably the last thing on peoples' minds. Larger districts in cities such as Los Angeles slashed their athletics' budgets by 25 percent while smaller counties considered eliminating athletic programs completely. But for the town of Gracemont, a football program was its only hope.
Gracemont, a 100-year old town, had never had a football program because of its small class sizes of 10 students. It had none of the typical infrastructure other programs enjoyed, such as a booster club, practice facilities, let alone a field.
But the town banded together and raised money for local Native American tribes, local businesses and even some corporate donations such as free practice shorts and tees from Under Armour. Nearby high schools donated old shoulder pads, practice uniforms and even an old scoreboard. Volunteers started transforming the school's baseball field into a football field, planting grass, painting lines.
With less than two weeks remaining before the team's first scheduled home game, the community worked practically overnight, pooling personal resources to construct bleachers, erect the scoreboard and even made a small press box.
Scott worked overtime, doubling as a bus driver in addition to teaching health, science and mechanics classes. Then after school, he organized the team's practice sessions before cutting pipe to use for the football field.
Scott's job was even harder then it sounds because he needed to teach his players everything from scratch. During Gracemont's first practice, Scott asked one player to "hit" another, only to have the boy reach out and slap the other. But the bright side was that players had no bad habits to break.
And then the field was ready, and on September 8th, the night of Gracemont's game, Gracemont experienced what reporters called "Gracemont's first traffic jam."
The Gracemont Lions were annihilated in its home-opener 48-0, but the school made over $2,200 that night. Shirts and seats quickly sold out and judging by the cheers that night, you never would have known Gracemont lost.
After its first two seasons, Gracemont was 0-13 and was outscored 693-94. Things have since started changing slowly.
In its third season of existence, almost won its first game in the season finale but ultimately fell short against Duke 48-44. The difference in the game had been the fourth quarter when Gracemont was outscored 22-14.
But more important than its near win was the school's growth. Attendance rates and academic performance started climbing because students now had a reason to attend class. And despite the losing, players and family members found a way to have fun.
On October 17th, 2013, Gracemont finally won its first game when the Lions routed Ryan High School 54-6. Gracemont made a concerted effort to win its second game ever but lost 62-34 for the second straight season finale to Duke. Still, the win meant improvement, event if Gracemont was blown out in the other seven games.
What's inspirational about this story? The dedication and concerted effort of the community to keep its school, and ultimately its home, alive and well. By taking such a gamble, Gracemont weathered the storm and survived. And although Gracemont will likely never come close to winning a state title in the next 10-15 years, the citizens of the small Oklahoma town discovered a new way to enjoy their Friday nights.
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