Fall Friday nights consist of cheering on the football team from the stands for most high school students. Yet senior Kamae Jacobus had a different experience with the football team. As football manager, Jacobus had the privilege of spending her Fridays on the sidelines, right next to the athletes and coaches.

Jacobus began her four years as football manager the summer before her freshman year.

“My brother was a senior and he was like ‘ya know Kam I really want you to be part of this.’ So he basically went around and talked to coach White and he’s like ‘yeah sure like come along’,” Jacobus said.

Jacobus’ brother Dalles was about to begin his final season (2015) on the Varsity Football Team and he wanted his sister to come along on the journey.

“It was fun, it was definitely an experience that I will cherish for a long time. You see a different aspect of the sport and you see how much these guys put into the product that comes out and it was a great experience,” Jacobus said.

For typical high school sports fans, football games are a time to have fun with friends and casually watch the game. However, Jacobus was able to be by the action of the game and feel the intensity of the sport.

“It’s another aspect that you’ll never get from the stands and it’s really cool seeing them all excited all of the time and they all build each other up. On the sidelines it’s a really different atmosphere of the game,” Jacobus said.

Jacobus not only assisted at the various Friday night games, but she attended each practice and added a helping hand.

“During practice I got waters for the guys, got equipment out, basically everything that coach needed to help practices run smoothly,” Jacobus said.

While traveling and watching the games were a highlight of Jacobus’ time as a football manager, the practices were some of her favorite times as well.

“I’ll miss practices, they were always fun with coach screaming. I’ll miss just the countless jokes and the relationships for sure,” Jacobus said.

After the last game of the 2018 season, Jacobus realized how much her time as football manager meant to her and couldn’t believe it was finally over.

“It was hard, I didn’t think I would get emotional with it but I definitely did. I built a lot of relationships with the coaches and the boys,” Jacobus said.

The Varsity Football Team has used “family” as their motto for the past several years and Jacobus was able to relate to it.

“It was like having a group of dads with the coaches and they all treated me as one of their own. The guys were all really respectful and having a brother-sister relationship with them was one thing that was really cool,” Jacobus said.

Jacobus is grateful for her time as a football manager and is glad she decided to be a part of the team her freshman year.

“Those boys are like brothers to me and I created a bond with them that I don’t think I could ever explain to anyone or anyone would ever really understand,” Jacobus said. “The relationships I built with all of them was definitely a huge part of my high school career.”