Student-athletes from Bonanza, Legacy, Western and Valley high schools recently received Nike equipment donations from the Las Vegas Raiders. Head coach Josh McDaniels, who’s father coache high school football in Ohio, helped with the donation.
Recognizing the future of the game 🏈
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) April 14, 2023
Yesterday, Coach McDaniels supplied equipment to local high schools’ football and girls flag football programs for their upcoming seasons! pic.twitter.com/azJkPMh03D
According to Raiders.com, football has always played a huge role in his life:
The Raiders coach told the young students he can remember following his father around on a football field from as young as 4 years old. Youth football still plays a huge role in his family, with his son playing high school football and his daughters getting into flag football.
Raiders.com
Thom McDaniels is a member of four Hall of Fames. His 40 year coaching career included head coaching jobs at Canton McKinley, Massillon Jackson and Warren G. Harding. In 1997, USA TODAY named him as its National Coach of the Year after he led the school to the newspaper’s national championship.
“It took a village when we were young to help us have resources and things to help us play the game of football and improve as players,” said McDaniels. “So just to have the opportunity to not only give back – not only to the game, but to our community here in Vegas – is a pretty special feeling.”
After the equipment was presented, the students and their coaches were given a tour of the facility, seizing the moment to view the Raiders’ weight room and the lockers of their favorite Raiders players.
Adein Curtis, running back for Western’s girl’s flag football team, was elated with the equipment donation. She described how useful it will be for her and her teammates to “keep warm and look good” on windy gamedays in the fall.
“It was out of this world,” Curtis said of touring the Raiders headquarters. “Kind of shook that I came here, my first time coming here. I would say it was amazing. I’m a fan of Josh McDaniels.”
“It’s a good feeling to look at the faces of those young kids and know that you’re giving them an opportunity to have some things they maybe otherwise wouldn’t have,” said McDaniels. “As much as we can do that, that’s better for the game, that’s better for our community.”
