ODESSA, Fla. — You don’t typically see football players dress up in aprons and hair nets, but on Tuesday they did it for a good cause.
What You Need To Know
- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie class visited Starkey Ranch K-8 to serve lunch to the students
- The Bucs rookie class partnered with the school district and the Dairy Council of Florida for their Fuel Up To Play 60 flagship program, an in-school nutrition and physical activity program by the NFL, which encourages kids to eat healthy and stay active
- Members of the team said how important it is for future generations to pay attention to their health
“We’re serving the kids today, we’re serving the children,” Rookie cornerback Zyon McCollum said.
The smile on his face showed how excited he and the other dozen rookies were to be at Starkey Ranch K-8 in Odessa.
“My mom, she was a teacher all through my middle school and high school, so doing stuff like this, I kind of always done my whole life,” McCollum said. “My grandma was the principal, so giving back to the kids, that’s what I love to do.”
The kids said they love it too. They got to be up close with these players and talk about anything but football.
Rookie guard Luke Goedeke was speaking to one of the first graders about Pokémon.
“He said him and his buddy Thomas were out there on the playground playing Pokémon, so I remember those days as well,” Goedeke said. “He had a little Snorlax on his water bottle and a little Pikachu action figure, so it brought back great memories of my childhood and everything.”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie class partnered with the school district and the Dairy Council of Florida for their Fuel Up To Play 60 flagship program, an in-school nutrition and physical activity program by the NFL, which encourages kids to eat healthy and stay active.
The younger kids are still learning. Rookie running back Rachaad White was helping a young boy with his cheeseburger and spicy Doritos.
“Promoting healthy eating habits, promoting that hour of physical activity a day — whether it’s walking, running, playing football outside — whatever it may be, getting that activity in, I believe that’s really huge for our future generations growing up to really take that all in and understand how helpful that is for your health going forward,” Goedeke said.
Opportunities like these are what these guys take full advantage of when they are not on the field.
“It gives you a great appreciation for what all the lunch ladies do in all the schools to help other kids, it gives you a good perspective and it’s good to change it up every once in a while and get a different scenery,” Rookie safety Nolan Turner said.
The Bucs say they take pride in being involved in the community, setting positive examples for the young players who look up to them, and promoting a healthy lifestyle.
