The Batavia Bulldogs football team gathered early on July 14, 2016 for their second-annual Village of Batavia clean-up.

The Batavia Bulldogs football team gathered early on July 14, 2016 for their second-annual Village of Batavia clean-up.

By Garth Shanklin
Sports Editor

In just a few short weeks, the Batavia Bulldogs football team will look to clean up on the gridiron. Before that, however, the team took to the streets of Batavia for a different type of cleaning.

The Bulldogs spent the morning of July 14 in the heart of the village of Batavia, sweeping streets, picking up litter and doing their part to keep the community beautiful.

Batavia head coach Matt Lester said this was the second year he and the Bulldogs had cleaned up the streets, with the entire team pitching in on the cleanup effort.

“This is the second year we’ve done it,” Lester said. “We take three hours and go up and down the village of Batavia, usually up to where the old elementary is, around the middle school, all around the village. The whole team will divide and conquer.”

Lester said the idea came to him because he had done similar things in college. He also noted the importance of the village itself to the community, which was another driving factor in the decision.

“I’ve done stuff like this, even back when I was in college,” Lester said. “I’m always trying to look for ways to involve the community in the football program, especially with the village being the heart and soul of Batavia. The more we can give back the better. Hopefully the parents will see that we’re giving back, and the community members will see that and come out to our games and support us a little more.”

Lester added that he hoped that the goodwill generated by the team translates to fans in the seats this upcoming season. Businesses in the area took notice of the team’s outreach last year, which Lester said allowed the team to get involved with the community in ways they hadn’t been able to before.

“They were very receptive,” Lester said. “It allowed us to do a few things during the football season. We always have football helmets with the players names on them and we had them in the storefront windows. There were sponsorships and things like that.”

The players seem to be buying in to the plan, according to Lester. He noted it can be difficult at times for the younger players to understand why outreach in the community is important, but he hopes they keep the lessons they learn doing the work with them as they get older.

“I think they liked it,” Lester said. “With them being 14 to 17 years old, I don’t think they really understand why they’re doing this stuff a lot. It’s important to give back to where you live and to give back to the community. Hopefully it’s one of those things that when they have kids or when they’re leading something of they’re own they’ll see that they did it as a player and it’s important to continue to do.

The Bulldogs begin practice for the 2016 season on Aug. 1. The team will host a Green and White scrimmage, beginning with the middle school team at 6 p.m. on Aug. 6. The high school team will follow at 7 p.m. Batavia opens the regular season with a home match against East Clinton on Aug. 26 at 7 p.m.