CHADRON, Neb. — Spring practice has been underway for the Chadron State football team the past month, but it's not been the only thing on the agenda for the Eagles. 

The spring football roster also pitched in and provided many hours of community service. Coach Jay Long and his assistants believe the program is a way to help make Chadron a great place to live, and for several years they have encouraged the CSC players to lend a helping hand in various ways.

 "We are a football town," Long noted. "So it's important that our team is involved in the community. This town gives a lot to our football program. It supplies funds for scholarships, provides jobs for players who stay in Chadron for summer workouts and when we play, people turn out and help us have an unbelievable game-day atmosphere. Because of this, we take a lot of pride in giving back and being visible in the community that supports us so well." 

Just as statistics are kept when the Eagles play, they are also kept in volunteering. Long reports that the volunteering has totaled 1,166 hours this year, mostly during the spring. More than 300 of the hours were chalked up on Saturday, April 11 when the college was involved in the well-known Big Event and many students and employees spent much of the day doing good deeds.

The football team's volunteer program stretches further than a one-day activity. It's becoming an ongoing process, lending assistance when it's needed.  

The football team's participation reads something like a playbook.  Everything is organized and goals are set. The CSC team is divided into 12 groups.  Each group has a captain who drafts six players. 

The coaching staff calls some of the signals by assigning each player with five hours of community service-project involvement. The coaches also challenge each of the captains to find and organize an additional five hours of various activities that will benefit the community.

The Eagles often take on projects that require physical activity, which includes providing general maintenance at the Dawes County Fairgrounds, the Dawes County Museum and the three city parks. Players also are available to provide snow removal for churches and elderly residents. 

Team members also recently assisted with setting up the Circle of Light, a cancer fundraiser, and also helped take it down and returned the equipment to storage. They did the same for the Father-Daughter Dance activity this spring. The Keep Chadron Beautiful recycling program is another activity that Coach Long says is a team favorite.

Not all of the tasks the Eagles take on require heavy lifting. They try to be role models in other ways.

On a recent Wednesday, pre-schoolers from the Child Development Center in the Burkhiser Center spent part of an afternoon on Elliott Field playing games with some of the Eagles.

The college team also held four football camps this spring for elementary and middle school youths with players volunteering to teach basic fundamentals of the sport.   

Several of the Eagles also are mentors in the popular Teammates program founded by Tom and Nancy Osborne that features one-on-one relationships between adults and youths. Long said he also knows that about a half dozen of his players serve as Sunday school teachers at various churches in Chadron. 

Long notes that after they've been introduced to the program and become familiar with Chadron, players sometimes think of new ways to provide assistance. That's how the Keep Chadron Beautiful program was adopted.     

Liam Blaser, a CSC linebacker from Columbus, Nebraska, said he appreciates the way community members support the football program by attending the games and cheering for the team.    

"The people give hours of their time and help make it possible for us to play the game we love," Blaser said. "Doing something in return for them is a way to show our appreciation."  

Wide receiver Garet Schlabs of Cheyenne, Wyoming, also noted: "Giving back to the community that gives us so much is truly important in a small-town setting. Being able to help around town provides a chance to build personal relationships that we value. Taking a little time to support a community that constantly rallies together and shows us so much love and support is incredibly meaningful to our team." 

Rex Cogdill, co-curator of the Dawes County Museum, had a sizable group of the players spend several hours assisting with various projects at the museum on April 11 and said the Eagles represented the college well. 

"They were diligent in what we asked of them, polite, articulate, attentive and an absolute joy to have onsite that day," Cogdill said. "In today's competitive athletic world, a lot of success is measured by the win/loss record, but importance should also be given to the development of players to become productive citizens of our communities."