Alabama Football makes Friday about giving back with its Tide teammates

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — First-year Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer has been under scrutiny from the moment he and his family landed at Tuscaloosa Regional Airport in January to replace legendary head coach Nick Saban.

DeBoer immediately went to work recruiting, retaining Alabama’s roster and beginning to establish his culture and vision for the Crimson Tide program. The changes brought questions and scrutiny, as opponents wondered whether Alabama could maintain its dominance if DeBoer played practice music, allowed players and coaches more media access or shifted the practice schedule to the morning.

At 7-2 with wins over the Georgia Bulldogs and LSU Tigers and in the College Football Playoff picture, it’s safe to say it’s working. DeBoer and his staff have maintained a vision for the program since January, and as a result, Alabama has landed in the thick of the SEC title race and another playoff berth.

Regardless of Alabama’s record, though important, perhaps the most significant change DeBoer has made to the program’s routine comes on Fridays. The Crimson Tide do their thing on the field and in walk-throughs as they prepare for the next day’s game, then welcome various Alabama fans and their children to practice to share an inspiring moment with the team.

«Yeah, we really started it back in Washington, more of a regular schedule, kind of every Friday, kind of format and we called it Husky Heroes there, now it’s Tide Teammates,» DeBoer said. «It just became a thing when you saw the joy you brought to people and there’s some good energy that even our players have and some excitement when we finish that Friday practice and get through it.

«It makes you feel good when you do things for other people. People just love the game, they look up to these players as idols, they fight their battles in a lot of different ways and I hope they give our guys some perspective that the battle is what we’re going to fight on the court, it’s really nothing compared to the battles that some people fight, especially when it comes to their lives or the things that they’ve been dealing with all along .»

DeBoer welcomes families with children in special circumstances and teaches players that their impact goes beyond what happens on the field. The Crimson Tide players see people struggling and put into perspective the blessings of playing SEC football.

«Kids come in here and we let them score touchdowns and hear how they’ve gone through life,» Alabama wide receiver Kendrick Law said. «When I say ‘going through life,’ I mean some of these kids have issues and things that are wrong with them. I kind of like how we’re constantly working from week to week because it shows that their families and things like that the kids can come here, interact with us, we love them, they love us, they’re scoring goals, it just shows us the characteristics outside of football that a lot of the guys in the team have, not just me, for the kids and things like that I think it’s something special.»

DeBoer came to Tuscaloosa and kept a winning program alive while the Crimson Tide was on the verge of making its second College Football Playoff appearance. He made several changes to policies, procedures and schedules, making the program his own in the process. Every change is put under the microscope as the program strives to maintain the standard, but Tide Teammates on Friday is undoubtedly a positive move that shows there is more to life than the wins and losses of the game.