BUTTE — On Thursday, Montana Tech athletes were at Ramsay Elementary giving back to their community by providing landscaping, cleaning and heavy lifting to the school.
“Football, volleyball both got moved to the fall, so, honestly, we’re just flipping the seasons right now and found a good chance to help out," said Tech volleyball head coach Brian Solomon.
With the pushed-back seasons, Montana Tech athletes wanted to use their newly found free time to help out.
“We want our student-athletes to leave our programs thinking about their communities, thinking about how they can give back through a lifelong commitment," Solomon said.
The players especially enjoyed using that time to bond with their teammates while helping out a local school.
“It’s really a great opportunity to do a lot of volunteer work for the Butte community,” said Orediggers tight end Jaylen Taggart.
Giving back is their way to show that they are more than a product on the field.
“We don’t want to be seen as this nasty football team," said senior linebacker Spencer Schock. "We want to be seen as a huge group of guys that’s just willing to do anything it takes to be a part of anything.”
Because life is about more than playing sports
“It’s better to be a part of your community, not just a part of just a team, to be just a part of a whole group, a whole community as one," said Schock.
As for football and volleyball seasons in the spring, the coaches and players remain optimistic.
“There’s not a whole lot of time to worry about feelings or thoughts about it, it’s just the reality we’re in," said Solomon. "We get to that point I’ll be really excited to play.”
