Georgia football invites Operation Teammate to scrimmage
Georgia football hosted some special guests Saturday at its second scrimmage of fall camp. The Bulldogs partnered with Operation Teammate, a local organization with the goal to help children whose parents are in the military.
After the scrimmage, kids of all ages took the field to interact with the players and coach Kirby Smart. Plenty of high fives were exchanged, footballs signed and smiles shared in the heartwarming moment that saw UGA give back to the community. You can view some clips and photos from the afternoon below.
According to its website, Operation teammate was founded in 2015 and is located in Augusta, Georgia. Its goal is to provide “an opportunity for athletic organizations to welcome children (ages 5-18) of our Military as honorary teammates during various times (i.e. deployments/training/disaster relief).” In addition to the Bulldogs, Operation Teammate has also partnered with pro teams such as the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets.
This isn’t the first time that Georgia has welcomed kids from Operation Teammate to its practices. There’s also several videos on the organization’s YouTube channel that show the Bulldogs interacting with the community and even giving a locker room tour.
After the scrimmage, Smart opened up on what the opportunity means for both him and his players.
“I want to thank the group from Operation Teammate,” he said. “We had them post practice and we’ve kind of made it an annual tradition to spend some time with the military families who have been separated from their kids and serve our country.
“I know they’re not out there for the entire scrimmage because I don’t know that they could handle the heat and being out there that long, but they come towards the end and our players get to interact with them. Certainly, want to thank the people that serve our country and come to our practices so that’s a big plus for our players to get to thank somebody else.”
It seems fun was had by all, and it’s heartwarming to see the joy from kids who might not always have both their parents around. As Smart said, those in the military make numerous sacrifices just to serve the country and this is an example of the power of sports to make a difference and give back.
Now having perhaps made a few new lifelong fans, Georgia will get back to focusing on the upcoming season. The Bulldogs are set to kick things off in a little less than two weeks on Sept. 2 against Tennessee-Martin.
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