One of the most exciting times for any athlete is getting new jerseys or getting jerseys passed out at the beginning of the season.
An exciting addition to this past football season was the introduction of the black jerseys used as special alternate jerseys for homecoming and other significant games. The new addition to the lineup of PC football uniforms was exciting for everyone on the team to be able to say that they were the first players to put on the uniforms. They kept the Cassville Homecoming win streak alive and beat Blackhawk the first time they wore the new black uniforms.
There is way more on the coach’s end than just simply handing out jerseys at the beginning of the season. The process of getting the jerseys is way more complicated from a coach's point of view. The “whole process of organizing the jerseys and inspecting them to make sure they are not torn or ripped, and ordering replacements or new jerseys, can take up to 8-9 months to get the orders placed and to have the jerseys made overseas and have them shipped to the school,” said Siegert.
A big part of good-looking uniforms is not-so-good-looking prices. Head coach Mark Siegert said, “The jerseys are pricey but the form-fitted uniforms don't only look good, but they are functional in the fact that other teams can't get a hold of the loose jerseys”. This is important in a football game because the more the other team has to grab on to, the easier it is to tackle you or block you.
Sam Udelhofen said, “I like the tightness of the shoulder pad area and how it holds the pads in place so they don't slide around and makes a nice, sharp-looking uniform.” This is important to have because if the uniforms are loose and baggy then the pads don't stay in place and can be a danger to the athlete.
It is interesting to hear the different opinions of the various players as to what their favorite jersey is. Dayton Udelhofen said, “I like the white jerseys the best because they look better with the helmets.” This is different between players because there are also other players that think the maroon or the black jerseys look better. What Cooper Emler said also agrees with Dayton. Cooper said, “I like the white ones better because they just all together look better.”
Another part of the sharp-looking uniforms is the intimidation factor. Cooper Emler said, ”I like how clean and sharp the white uniforms look because it almost gives the team an intimidation factor, because if you look good, you play good.”
When it all boils down, there is way more to it than just putting on uniforms for a Friday night game. The amount of work that goes into it is much more than people think. There are weeks of going over the uniforms and making sure they are still in usable condition and ordering new jerseys if needed.