A football team in Norton Shores, Michigan, is honoring blue collar workers in players’ families whose roles are vital to the nation.
For a while now, Mona Shores football team members have been wearing blue collar work shirts to show respect for the community’s working class history, MLive.com reported Friday.
However, head coach Matt Koziak came up with an idea recently to make the project even more special. Koziak asked the young men to choose one such worker related to them who worked hard to provide for their family at some point in the past.
Koziak said getting a degree was a good option, “but I think you lose touch on the blue collar mentality.”
Images show the young men wearing their special shirts with the titles such as “Grandpa” and “Dad” embroidered on them:
Senior Erik Gould’s shirt honors his father, who throughout the years has worked in several roles including as a welder, mechanic, and trucker.
“It shows me you can do a lot of stuff other than working in an office. You can work with your hands to make a living. He’s a great leader and I want to be like him,” the young man stated.
More images show the entire team gathered with several of the players wearing their blue collar shirts:
In February, Tyler Sasse, who is the founder and owner of Western Welding Academy, said during an interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily his Blue Collar Tour of high schools across the nation highlights the opportunities in the skilled trade industry available to young people.
He explained, “It’s our way to really help inspire the next generation of our country. Somebody needs to be in here doing this work.”
Junior Tyrese McCorvey is shining a light on the many sacrifices his mother has made to care for him, saying her example is a huge motivation.
“She put her all into me and [made me] who I am now. She goes to work every day to provide for me, make sure I have a shelter over my head and food in my stomach,” he added.