Practice Field Offers Relief From Cleanup, Gamecocks' New Reality
3/27/2018 2:48:00 PM | Football
JACKSONVILLE – The practice field offered a little relief from the Jacksonville State football team's new reality is on Tuesday morning.
After returning to town on Monday and going straight to work helping clean up the JSU campus and city that was ravaged by an EF-3 tornado on March 19, the Gamecocks were able to get on the field for the first time in over a week. Head coach John Grass and his guys walked off the practice field, only a couple of hours away from heading right back into the damaged areas of town to continue their work in the recovery efforts.
"It was good to get back out here and get to work football-wise," Grass said after the team's 90-minute workout on Burgess-Snow Field. "It was good to get back out here and get their minds away from it and get back to football for a little bit. But now its time to take our pads and whistles off, put our work clothes on and get right back to work this afternoon. That's our new normal right now, and it's going to take a while to find a balance in the cleanup process and taking care of the football part."
That balance will be one the fifth-year head coach has to find and deal with for what he thinks is the foreseeable future. Several buildings one campus suffered major damage and homes were destroyed in neighborhoods all around the north end of the city.
"This is probably our new normal for the spring and the summer – doing a little football and helping a lot with the cleanup," he added. "It's bad. Someone asked me this morning, 'Is it really that bad?' Yes it's that bad. With no lives lost, I think people don't realize how bad the damage is and that the rebuilding process isn't going to happen overnight. It's going to be a process. It's going to be a long process."
Grass was eager to get his guys back as soon as possible, so that the Gamecocks could do their part in making a dent in that process. He feels with over 100 players in his program and his staff, that the football team can play a large role in the cleanup and recovery efforts in a community that needs all hands on deck.
"I think It's huge to get back to work," he said. "I told them after practice that the world doesn't stop for you, whether good things are happening to you or bad things are happening to you. Right now we are in a crisis situation. It was great to get them back in yesterday and to get back out and help with the clean up and to help build our city and our campus back. Maybe we can make a small dent in that and be a part of it."
The recovery isn't limited to people outside of the program. Several members of the team were affected by the storm that ripped through the north end of campus and through the neighborhoods and apartment complexes adjacent to it.
"We have 40 guys that are displaced from their housing and we have 22 guys that lost everything," Grass said. "They're just like a lot of other people in town that have lost their whole house and their whole world was turned upside down and they're living in a hotel."
Grass expressed pride in the hearts of his players, especially those that have been displaced but have chosen to go out and help others in need in the community.
"I was talking to one of our players that lost everything on Sunday," he mentioned. "He was so glad to be back and to be able to help. Everything he had was in that apartment. The blessing in that is if he would've been in that apartment, he wouldn't have made it. But he's lost everything he's got. With tears in his eyes he told me 'That stuff can be replaced.' It's good to get him back out here on this field to get his mind off of it for a few hours and then go help other people. So we have guys that have lost everything and they're out here helping other people, and that's a good thing."
The Gamecock football team isn't the only team that's been out aiding in the cleanup efforts. Other teams like the softball, volleyball and men's basketball teams were seen in the community on Monday, trying to support those citizens that have supported the Gamecocks on the field so many times. Grass called it impossible to see the damage and not feel the urge to help in whatever way you can.
"I was really proud of our guys getting out," he said. "All of our sports on campus have gotten out and have been a part of helping out. You can't look at (the damage), see it and not want to help. To get out and help some homeowners, help clean up campus and things like that, we can't do it all but we can be a part of it."
Photo Gallery: JSU football players clean up tornado debris around the Stone Center on the JSU campus Monday afternoon. https://t.co/fwRBs2qDLx
— Anniston Star JSU (@StarJaxState) March 26, 2018
The Gamecocks hope to be a big part of the cleanup. A large roster and staff lends several hands that can go into the affected areas and do more than a small crew of volunteers can do. Grass plans to continue to go out and be as big a part of the rebuild as possible.
"I think we can make a difference," he said. "I went by one site yesterday where we sent two huddles, which is about 20-25 people, and the softball team was over there. We did what a small crew could do in an afternoon in about two hours. Those kids were exhausted when we got through, but that homeowner really appreciated that. So I think that we can make a dent in it.
"Are we going to be able to do it all? No, but we can make a dent and work at it. If everybody does their part in it, then we are going to be able to recover from this. Jacksonville is a strong city and we have a strong campus. We have had a lot of alumni that have come out and helped."
Serving the community is something the Gamecocks have done since Grass took over as head coach, but it's a little more special for him to see his players and other members of the community take the lead and help the members of the community when they're in such need.
"There are givers out there and there are takers out there," Grass said. "We hope we are teaching our guys to be givers and to have a servant's heart. I think they did a really good job. I went by every location we were working yesterday and they were working their rear ends off, so I was really proud of them. And I've been proud of our community and how everybody is just working hard to build this thing bigger and better than what it even was."
The Gamecocks haven't been alone in the recovery efforts. Over 1,400 volunteers showed up on Friday – the first day they were allowed in the northeast part of town due to safety concerns. Saturday saw over 2,000 more roll into town, a sight that meant so much to those affected by the damage.
"I appreciate all of the volunteers that have come in here and helped," Grass added. "If you'd been here Saturday and saw the thousands of people in and around town helping with the cleanup, it would've done your heart good."
The head coach's biggest request is that support keeps coming. With the long road ahead for the city and campus, Grass knows the need for help will remain and hopes those helping now see that and continue to help Jacksonville and JSU rebuild.
"It's devastation," he said. "We need a lot of help. And I hope people don't forget about us in that effort. A week or two will go by and I hope people don't forget about it. It's going to take a long time to repair this stuff. It breaks your heart to see campus, and to see all of the trees gone and destroyed, but this place means a lot to a lot of people, so I think the recovery effort is going to continue to go on, and we're going to get this thing done."
Tuesday morning's practice offered a little release from that new reality that belongs to the citizens of Jacksonville and the staff and students at JSU.
"I think it was a relief to get back on the field and to be able to get away from it," Grass said. "All you do is think about it. Some of these guys couldn't get back here until Monday, so all you can do is sit and worry about it and there's nothing you can do. To have them back here and to get on the field, it's kind of like a release and a relief to finally get to be able to help some and be a part of the recovery effort, and to be able to practice a little ball, too. I think it did them a lot of good. We were a little rusty, because it's been awhile since we've been able to think about football, but it did us a lot of good to get back out here."
For more information on tornado relief efforts for the City of Jacksonville and Jacksonville State University, visit jsu.edu/jsustrong. Information regarding volunteer information, where to submit monetary donations and answers to other frequently asked questions can be found here.
The J-Day Spring Game is still scheduled for Thursday, April 12 at 7 p.m. at Burgess-Snow Field. Admission will be free.
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