DILLSBURG, Pa. — Cleaning high school football uniforms after a game can be a daunting task. At Northern York High School, they have a unique way to get the job done.
A typical wash cycle lasts just under an hour, thanks to the Polar Bear Foundation, which bought a washer and dryer for students from the PACE Life Skills classroom to use in taking care of the team's laundry duties.
In the hallways of Northern York High School, laundry days are more than wash – rinse - and repeat. The football team, along with PACE students, built a powerful den.
“Seeing the smiles on their faces whenever they're interacting with our kids, it just brings a whole new energy to that classroom,” said Jason Statnick, a Northern York Learning support teacher.
It’s really not about washing the jerseys,” agreed Northern York High School Life Skills Teacher Amy Austin. “It's about letting them develop relationships that might not form otherwise. It's about just letting them get to know each other.”
Every time the Polar Bears take to the field, their hard work is literally on their backs.
Every Tuesday and Wednesday inside the Life Skills room it’s time to get down and dirty with the laundry.
The PACE students, joined by members of the Polar Bears football team, wash the jerseys worn on Friday nights, a simple task that goes well beyond stain removal.
“We go across the street, we sort the clothes. We wash jerseys with the football team. They come and help us. It's fun to play games and have the interaction with football players,” says Sierra Ramsey. Ramsey is a Northern York junior who also competes on the school's Bocce Ball team and in the Special Olympics.
Northern York wide receiver Jake Kazakavich didn’t pass up the opportunity to join the group and take part.
“I think it's a great experience for both us and the life skills class. We get something out of it, both the jerseys washed and the experience that we get to have in this life skills class.”
For senior Blake Myers, he enjoys having the football players in the classroom.
“It's kind of nice. You have more new friends to meet and usually [we] don't have friends to meet sometimes and it's hard to meet friends," he said.
The interaction goes well beyond just spraying, scrubbing, washing and waiting.
It’s game time, but not against any different school, rather, while the laundry cycle runs, the PACE students and members of the football team play games like UNO, Sorry and word searches, which can get intense. This isn’t all surprising, after all... a team is competitive.
“Just to see their game playing and interaction, they really like one another," said Robin Kazakavich, who would know. Kazakavich is an emotional support teacher at Northern York and also a football mom. Both at work and at home, she sees what is happening.
“To be able to witness that friendship being fostered is so heartwarming," she said.
Austin has a front-row seat as well to the relationships being built in her classroom. “They look forward to having the football players come. It's different people in the room, it's a good interaction for them to [talk] with some different people.”
At a recent varsity game, the Polar Bear Foundation and team invited their new teammates to be honored before kick-off.
Anywhere you looked, fans saw hugs, smiles and photos all around, with a wish of good luck.
For the next 48 minutes or so, two teams went at it and regardless of the final score, the process that saw Northern York take the field in perfectly cleaned purple uniforms would repeat next week.
For Statnick, who also serves as an assistant coach with the Polar Bears, this season is building something special.
“I love to see the smiles on kids' faces. Just shows the culture we have in this building, one community, one team, one school and working together to achieve multiple goals, whether that be on a football field, in the classroom [or] in the community," he said.
A lifetime of skills and friendships, that all started with a dirty jersey on a football field.