MINNEAPOLIS — A north Minneapolis football team is banking on the holiday giving season to make another championship run.
The Minnesota Jays are ready to compete in a D1 national tournament in Atlanta next week, but they need help.
Coach Adel Morey says the team is still $8,000 short of that goal, putting their participation in jeopardy.
"It’s a privilege to play sports," said Morey, who has coached this team for four years. "Now that we have the ability to give a certain opportunity to people, I think it’s special to give it back to certain kids in certain areas that deserve it."
Some 60 kids are part of the squad that wasn't always so supreme. They've had a big hill to climb, also dodging bullets after shots rang out at Jordan Park several years ago. After that, the team moved their primary practice location to Bryn Mawr Park.
No one on the team was hurt in that drive-by shooting but just a couple of years later, someone they looked up to was killed in another shooting. Deshaun Hill was just 15 when he was shot and killed in 2022. He was a valued member of the Minnesota Jays and is still very much missed.
"From leadership to responsibility, to go through hardships and to give up," said Morey about the responsibility he feels he owes to his players. "You give them that sense of stability, sense of mentorship, and now they can learn and grow and thrive in many different ways."
Except sports can also be expensive and the dozen tournaments they play in every year can be even more so.
"We're almost $10,000 in before we even leave," said Morey, who contributes some of what he earns as a local teacher so that every player can have that experience.
If you'd like to help the football team make it to Atlanta, click here.
The tournament is Dec. 15-18 and includes ages 5U to 14U.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist:
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.