"New cleats? Man, it means a lot to us. It really means a lot to us," said junior Wilquan Burke after receiving his pair.
Syracuse, NY -- The morning practice Thursday was stopped for water and good will.
The Fowler High School football team had worked up a good sweat by the time head coach John Natoli blew his whistle and summoned his players around a table holding identical gray boxes.
One by one, each player took a knee and removed his helmet. One by one, as they opened the boxes, the Falcons broke out into uncontrollable smiles.
The congregation of Trinity Assembly of God, in Clay, donated more than $1,100 during two Sunday offerings to buy every member of the Fowler varsity football team a pair of cleats in the school’s red-and-black colors.
Sophomore lineman Cody Rupert kept his mouth guard locked against his teeth while waiting to hear his size called out. After picking up his size 14 shoes, taking them out of the box and pulling them on his feet, Rupert was overwhelmed. “They’re serious,” Rupert said of the shoes. “These are the best cleats I’ve ever gotten.”
Tom Hertweck, a senior pastor at Trinity, said he was moved to help the Falcons after reading about the team in The Post-Standard. Hertweck said he has a routine for navigating his Sunday newspaper. He puts the sports section on top, because he wants to read it right after his service.
This time, Hertweck said, he caught himself reading about Fowler beforehand.
Once the service started, Hertweck said, he had Fowler in his heart. He asked the congregation if it wanted to help, and so the Sunday offering was earmarked for the team.
Hertweck called Fowler head coach John Natoli and suggested they could use the money to buy team jackets or sweat shirts or hats. After huddling with his Falcons, Natoli called Hertweck back and asked about new cleats.
Here was a real need, not a fashion statement. Fowler is the neediest high school in Syracuse. About nine in 10 students at Fowler receive free or reduced-price lunches, according to principal Jim Palumbo.
During a scrimmage a week ago against Rome Free Academy, Fowler sophomore Sean Kulas had a shoe blow out after someone stepped on the heel of his cleats. They were old, he said, and “worn out.” Another player, starting offensive tackle Kenny Green, practiced throughout camp with tape wrapped around the toe of his shoe to hold its sole together.
“It wasn’t even a hesitation,” Natoli said of his player’s wishes. “That was the first thing out of their mouths and it was unanimous: They all said, ‘Cleats, cleats, cleats. We want cleats. We need cleats.’”
Hertweck burned up the phone lines shopping for the best deal on 31 pairs. He said area sporting good stores either did not have the right price or enough stock of the same shoes; he got online and ran into the same problem.
David Hertweck describes his father as a fearless haggler and relentless shopper. It was no surprise to David that a day later, dad found a deal. Eastbay Inc., a Wisconsin sporting goods company, had an ample supply. The shoes retail for $99; Hertweck got them for $30 a pair.
But there was still the matter of the bottom line. He was short on the bill. Hertweck went back to his congregation and asked if they could contribute one more time.
Speaking to the team on Thursday, Hertweck mentioned one woman specifically. She’s expecting a child in the fall, and “things are kind of tough on them” as a family, Hertwick told the players. Still, he said, the woman wanted to help. Hertweck said she opened her purse and gave him $12.
It was everything she had.
“You guys are going to look really good,” Hertweck told the Falcons Thursday. “And we believe you’re going to play really good. Really, they’re not a gift from Trinity Assembly of God, from me or our people. It’s a gift from God to you, because God believes in you, too.”
Sophomore Javonte Young positioned himself near the front of the circle nearest the table. He was the first player to get his cleats. Young is shy and quiet. His smile, however, could not hide his joy. “Amazing,” Young said. “Grateful.”
“We look more like a team,” Kulas said.
“Some of our players didn’t even have cleats,” said junior Wilquan Burke. “They had cleats with holes in them. You could see their feet. But new cleats? Man, it means a lot to us. It really means a lot to us.”
