Thanksgiving football practice a tradition reserved for champions

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, November 27, 2024 | 9:49 PM

Whenever Thomas Jefferson holds a Thanksgiving Day practice, coach Bill Cherpak never knows who might show up.

One year it was Barry Sanders.

OK, so it wasn’t really the NFL legend. But instead, the Jaguars players have a favorite holiday tradition of wearing a jersey representing a favorite college team or NFL player when they get together on Thanksgiving for practice.

They’ll revive that custom Thursday morning as they prep for a state semifinal matchup with Lampeter-Strasburg.

“We’ve done that for probably the last 10 times we’ve practiced on Thanksgiving,” Cherpak said. “And then we give out some prizes for the best jerseys.”

The team will practice at 10 a.m.

“You’d be amazed at what some of these kids have jersey-wise,” Cherpak said. “I remember a kid wearing a game-worn, signed Barry Sanders jersey. Kids were wearing signed jerseys of hall of fame Steelers. It’s unbelievable.”

As a 10-time WPIAL champion, Cherpak has overseen more Thanksgiving practices than most coaches. But this will be the first for everyone on TJ’s roster. The team last had a Thanksgiving practice in 2020, so Cherpak said there was some anticipation.

“They love it,” he said. “They’ve already been looking forward to it because none of these kids have done it.”

Thomas Jefferson is one of six WPIAL teams still practicing this week. Central Catholic, Pine-Richland, Avonworth, South Park and Fort Cherry also are preparing for state semifinals on Friday or Saturday.

“If you’re practicing on Thanksgiving morning, that means you’re playing meaningful football,” said Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne, whose Rams have holiday practice plans for the second time in three years.

For South Park, this will be the team’s first time Thanksgiving practice since 2005.

“For us, being able to have the opportunity to practice on Thanksgiving is special in itself,” South Park coach Brian Abbey said. “We are going to stick to our routine that has gotten us here. We will have our normal Thursday walkthrough. The only difference being that we will practice early.”

Early means an 8 a.m. start there.

This is the second year in a row that Fort Cherry will practice on Thanksgiving. Rangers coach Tanner Garry scheduled a 9 a.m. workout with a team breakfast afterward.

LeDonne hoped to attract a crowd when his Pine-Richland players gathered at 9:30 a.m. at the No Offseason complex in Russelton. LeDonne used social media to extend an open invitation to all former Rams players.

“It’s a time to honor the guys who wore the jersey before you,” LeDonne said. “Most people are home for the holiday, so we’re hoping for a good turnout.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Avonworth, Central Catholic, Fort Cherry, Pine-Richland, South Park, Thomas Jefferson