WACO, Texas (KXXV) — 37 schools across the Lone Star State are among the winners of five thousand dollar prizes from T-Mobile.
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Those schools include: Valley Mills, La Vega, University and Connally.
25 News Sports Anchor Shahji Adam sat down with local coaches to talk about what it means to win funds for their student athletes.
"Every sport out there can't get what they want. They have to get what they need and so we have a wish list. Every sport has a wish list, and that's things they want, you know, we're gonna get them the things they need — because that falls underneath budgetary," La Vega football head coach Don Hyde said.
"Winning $5,000 compared to $1,000 from last year just kinda multiplies our funds or what we can buy for, you know, our athletes kind of helps to replace equipment when needed and kind of just helps add on to our program," University football assistant coach Aarrhon Flores said.
T-Mobile enters year two of this initiative. With four of our local schools being chosen — it shows how much Cen-Tex football has grown.
"Your school gets recognized — your kids get recognized, and then at the end of the day we're in the business of kids and so we're excited about the T-Mobile opportunity," Connally football head coach Terri Gerik said.
"You want every program within your district just to just to strive and thrive, you know, you want — not even just from boy side to girls side you need every program," Flores said.
One of the key factors in winning the one million dollar grand prize is the community engagement. Local coaches know how much the community means to their programs.
"You know, without those parents and we're in trouble, and, they're at every Friday night game.They care about these kids and they care about the Connally Cadets," Gerik said,
"We have to depend on other people to push that narrative for us and so we're very thankful that number one our coach's wife, number two our school district, and number three, our community push that narrative for us in a great way," Hyde said.
Public voting for finalists begins Sept. 25, and there's still time for more Texas schools to enter before the Sept. 12 deadline.
