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Ogden Park Vikings Football Team Needs New Equipment

By Andrea V. Watson | February 20, 2017 10:21am | Updated on February 21, 2017 11:40am
 The Ogden Park Vikings took home a trophy at the Junior Bears Mum Bowl held at Soldier Field last year.
The Ogden Park Vikings took home a trophy at the Junior Bears Mum Bowl held at Soldier Field last year.
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Keith Harris

ENGLEWOOD — For years, the Ogden Park Vikings made due with reusing old uniforms and suiting up in beat-up equipment — a situation that was “heartbreaking” to the volunteer coach of the Pee Wee and varsity football teams.

They've received help through the community and the Chicago Park District, he said, but they still need help.

Keith Harris has been helping the team for 15 years. Last year they took home a championship trophy at the Junior Bears Mum Bowl at Soldier Field.

The team is split into two age groups — 8-10-year-olds and 11-13-year-olds. Collectively, they make up a group of 75-80 players on average. After last year's win, Harris said he expects at least 20 new players to join the teams, which practice at Ogden Park, 6500 S. Racine Ave.

They’ve always made do, he said, but the players could really use new equipment like helmets and shoulder pads. In the past, they've used seven-year-old equipment and six-year-old uniforms, he said.

Thanks to the Englewood Quality of Life Fund, the team got a $5,000 grant to offset the costs, but it's still about $35,000 short of the amount needed to buy new equipment for every player.

Last year the Chicago Park District provided new shoulder pads and helmets for about 60 players, Harris said, but they had more players than that resulting in some having to share.

The players will begin conditioning by June for the August-October season.

“It broke my heart the last couple of years to have to go through the equipment and put pieces together to get the kids ready to go play,” Harris said.

Traveling to other neighborhoods makes the contrast between the Vikings and other teams more stark, he said.

“When I come back over here, and I see we have to struggle and fight and twist arms to get the stuff we need, it’s heartbreaking,” Harris said.

Jessica Maxey-Faulkner, a spokeswoman for the park, said that the park district has "standards, including the certification of helmets every four years, so no helmet is over four years old."

She said that sharing is against the park's policy. After learning that a set of brothers shared helmets last year, staff were reminded that it wasn't allowed, Maxey-Faulkner said.

She said that shoulder pads must be in shape without any dents and if a piece of equipment doesn't meet those standards, then the coach must notify the park district immediately so it can be replaced.

People are welcome to donate, she said, but the park does provide its own equipment.

Ogden Park Advisory Council President Nicole Vaughn said the council helped raise more than $1,500 for the team to get new uniforms, but it still wasn’t enough: They still need uniforms and helmets, she said.

One of her other concerns is trying to get the football team a regulation field with actual turf to practice on because the park doesn't have one. The team makes do with whatever open space in the grass it can find, Vaughn said.

“It’s disrespectful and this is long overdue,” she said. “We shouldn't be asking for money.”

The advisory council is working on a new campaign to bring awareness to the fact these champion players don’t have an actual football field.

“We need a national campaign surrounding the park,” she said. “They’re the No. 1 team with no football field. I think that’s a slap in their face.”

Ogden Park has become a safe place for the young people amid all the violence in the city, and the team deserves the best, Vaughn said.

Harris said the team is a family and the volunteer coaches step up and get involved in the players’ lives. Many of them played on the team when they were children.

“Once these kids get with us they end up being with us year round,” he said. “It’s a never-ending circle. They’re always busy and always receiving some positive direction.”

People can donate to the team through the Chicago Parks Foundation or by contacting the Ogden Park Advisory Council.