Championship Saturday: Celebrating Our Players, Classroom Champions and Community
Updated: 34 minutes ago
OCTOBER 24, 2026 · CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY
From the final plays at Troost Park to our evening celebration at Chicken N Pickle Overland Park, Championship Saturday brought our Join the League family together. Players competed, families cheered, volunteers served, and our community celebrated a season of effort, growth and belonging.
A celebration for the whole family Sharing the pride of the season
Families and familiar faces made the celebration feel like home.
The plays. The people. The pride.
Relive the game action, the player tunnel, the people behind game day, and our season-ending celebration.
From the field to the page
A favorite play becomes a story. A teammate’s kindness becomes a lesson. A career question opens a new possibility. These student activity pages show how we carry the game into learning.
My Football Story Teamwork and My Future
Students draw and tell their football story, reflect on teammates and mentors, and choose a career to explore. They bring the pages back to practice and share what they learned. The fall challenge also connected completed work to a Fifth & Emery ice cream reward.
This connects Join the League’s sports experience with the literacy and social-emotional learning approach behind Read & Move It™. Writing builds expression; teamwork reflections practice empathy and communication; career questions introduce workforce possibilities. Families, Bigs and coaches help carry the learning forward.
Champions in the classroom
At Join the League, recognition reaches beyond the scoreboard. Our student-athlete awards celebrate academic growth, steady progress, leadership, helpfulness and positive classroom behavior. We want young people to see that the habits they practice in school matter just as much as the effort they bring to the field.
Every player is recognized with a participation trophy. Alongside that shared celebration, the classroom awards honor five students for the different ways they contribute and grow.
Tyler Martin — Most Improved Player. Recognized for showing the most growth since the beginning of the term.
Amanda Finney — First Down Award. Recognized for making steady, consistent progress and moving the ball forward academically.
Sam Janis — MVP, Most Valuable Pupil. Recognized for outstanding overall academic performance or leadership. Our classroom MVP honor puts learning and leadership in the spotlight.
Elias Jackson — Defensive Coordinator. Recognized for helping keep the classroom organized, clean and running smoothly.
Dominic Ramirez — Hall of Fame Behavior. Recognized for consistently following classroom rules and setting an example for others.
Celebration moments at Chicken N Pickle: students choose prizes, collect gifts and share the joy of a season together.
Choosing something special A warm welcome and a gift
Celebrating our football award winners
Tyron Bridgewater Jr. — MVP
Rayden Taylor — Best Leader on the Field
Jasper Hicks — Best Defensive Play
Marlin Porter — Rookie of the Year
James Paris — Most Improved Player
Congratulations to every honoree — and to every player who practiced, learned, supported a teammate and kept showing up.
Every player had a moment
Participation trophies, proud smiles and a celebration of every player who kept showing up.
A proud trophy moment A thumbs-up for the season A moment to be celebrated Celebrating hard work Pride in the season Every player matters
Emcee spotlight: Thank you, Dee Moore
Dee Moore, thank you for delivering such a great show as our Championship Saturday emcee. Your energy, warmth and care helped make our players, families, coaches and supporters feel celebrated. You brought our community together and gave our young people their moment to shine. We are grateful for the heart you brought to the celebration and for being part of the Join the League™ family.
The donors and partners behind the season
A season like this takes funding, meals, gifts, places to gather and people willing to give their time. We are grateful to the donors, sponsors and community partners who helped our young people play, learn and belong.
Season funding and donor support
DICK’S House of Sport / DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation — Thank you for helping fund the season and supporting our athletes. The House of Sport team also provided 120 goodie bags, a photo backdrop and event signage for the celebration.
Kissick Construction — Thank you to Pete Browne and the Kissick team for your generous donation to Join the League and your belief in our kids and families.
John Shaw — Thank you for your generous donation to Temple Made Foundation and for continuing to believe in our kids and the opportunities we are building together. We appreciate your kindness, encouragement and continued support.
Arby’s Foundation and Flynn Group — The $20,000 Arby’s Foundation check presentation to Temple Made Foundation was a special moment in the celebration. Thank you to the Arby’s Foundation and Flynn Group teams for investing in young people.
The Lewandowski family and our Rockhurst High School family — Thank you for supporting our kids and being part of the community behind this season.
Food, gifts and a place to celebrate
Ruby Jean’s Juicery — Thank you to Chris Goode and the Ruby Jean’s team for your donation and ongoing support of our young people.
Tiki Taco — Thank you to Eric, Meredith and the Tiki Taco team for the Championship Saturday taco bar and for helping feed our players and families.
Five Below — Thank you for supporting the celebration and helping make it special for our students.
Chicken N Pickle Overland Park — Thank you to Parker, Tamara and the Chicken N Pickle team for welcoming our families and helping bring the season celebration to life.
Learning, mentorship and community connections
Operation Breakthrough and Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City — Our youth and family partners helped connect the season’s football, classroom learning and community experiences. Thank you to the teachers, staff, mentors and families who made those connections possible.
Lockton — Thank you for being part of the season and helping our young people see possibilities beyond the field.
Rico Conn and Chase / JPMorganChase — Thank you to Rico and the Chase team for bringing financial learning and career conversations to our students. Rico, we also appreciate your help refereeing and your continued support of our players and the league.
JE Dunn — Thank you for your continued partnership and to Chrissy Chandler for encouraging our kids to stay curious and explore what they can build.
Pro Athlete — Thank you to Angel McGee and the Pro Athlete team for supporting our kids, sharing our story and contributing a message of encouragement.
Kansas City Fire Department and Kansas City Police Department — Thank you for connecting with our young people. KCFD’s October 22 visit gave students a chance to ask questions, try on firefighter gear and explore careers in fire service.
Colby Broadnax and CB Fit — Thank you to Colby and the CB Fit team for sharing your coaching, energy and expertise with our young people. Your work in movement, sports performance and wellness, along with your continued encouragement, helps our kids build confidence and healthy habits.
Special Olympics Missouri — Thank you for bringing inclusive play, encouragement and community connection to our students. We appreciate your continued partnership, your support of the league and the time your team shares to help every child feel welcome and included.
Coaches, volunteers and the people behind each week
To every head coach, assistant coach, official, field-crew member, teacher, mentor and volunteer: thank you for the practices, patience and encouragement you gave our players. Our families and caregivers made that support stronger every week.
Thank you to our Operation Breakthrough and Temple Made teams, Ignition Lab students and staff, and everyone who helped with transportation, setup, check-in, food service, awards and cleanup.
Thank you to Glory Football, HE Leads, Blue Springs Athletic Association and KC Parks for being part of the wider community around our young people.
We also appreciate Bill Brandmeyer with ShareWaves, Hunter with Drip Apparel, Josephfer and Spectrum, Kendu, Ashten / 333 Media, and Yolanda Bentley of Academy Bank for their encouragement, storytelling and personal support.
Our thank-you film brings together messages from Mary Esselman, Chrissy Chandler, Austin Simmons, Kloey Smith, Chris Goode, Chloe and Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City, Chicken N Pickle, Angel McGee, our coaches and KCFD. Every voice is a reminder that our kids have a community cheering them on.
A thank-you from our community
Watch the full community thank-you film, including the final KCFD message. To our players, families, coaches, teachers, volunteers and partners: thank you for showing up for our kids.
A few moments to keep
Play. Learn. Lead. Grow.
This wrap-up celebrates the people and moments that brought our season to life. Our season impact report is next. For now, we invite you to watch, celebrate our award winners and share the thank-you film with someone who helped make it possible.
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