Fridays with the Yellow Jacket Family

For the past four decades, virtually every young kid in Denison has grown up hearing and learning about the town’s revered slogan, “It’s Great to be a Yellow Jacket.” It was started by excited football fans in the 1980s during a State Championship run that ended in victory. Thirty-plus years later, it continues to reverberate on the playing field as well as in numerous DISD character-building programs, including “Friday Mornings with the Jacket Family.”

“Our football players arrive in groups on all our elementary campuses on Fridays when we have away games, to greet and welcome our young kids as they arrive for school. Our cheerleaders do the same thing on home-game Fridays, so it’s a continuous cycle throughout the season,” said DISD Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Chad Rogers. “Everyone shares high fives, elbow-bumps, cheers and big smiles, which is a great way for all of us to start the day.”

Rogers says the program started in 2015 and quickly became a Yellow Jacket tradition that everyone looks forward to.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that the players and coaches enjoy the morning meet-and-greets as much as the youngsters,” said Rogers. “I don’t think our athletes realized just how much these younger kids admire them and want to be like them, and what an impact they can have on future generations. It’s important for our high school athletes to realize that they have an obligation to set good examples and be good role models in everything they do, on and off the field, to learn to be reliable and responsible, to give back to their community and share their talents and gifts with others. Our coaches participate in this program as well, and we enjoy it just as much as the kids. This has proved to be a win-win program for everyone concerned.

“And yes,” added Rogers, “it really is great to be a Yellow Jacket!”

A group of Denison Yellow Jackets pose for a photo op with a young Hyde Park student during a recent “Friday Mornings with the Jacket Family” event.“Our football players arrive in groups on all our elementary campuses on Fridays when we have away games, to greet and welcome our young kids as they arrive for school. Our cheerleaders do the same thing on home-game Fridays, so it’s a continuous cycle throughout the season,” said DISD Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Chad Rogers.

Houston elementary students enjoyed a visit from Denison Yellow Jacket cheerleaders last Friday during a “Friday Mornings with the Jacket Family” meet-and-greet celebration. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that the cheerleaders, players and coaches enjoy the morning meet-and-greets as much as the youngsters,” said DISD Athletic Director Chad Rogers.

A Lamar elementary school student donned her Yellow Jacket cheerleader attire for a recent meet-and-greet with DHS football players. “It’s important for our high school athletes to realize that they have an obligation to set good examples and be good role models in everything they do, on and off the field,” said DISD Athletic Director Chad Rogers.

A group of Denison Yellow Jacket football players gathered outside Terrell elementary school on a recent Friday to share smiles and elbow-bumps with young students as they arrived for school. “I don’t think our athletes realized just how much these younger kids admire them and want to be like them, and what an impact they can have on future generations,” said Chad Rogers, DISD Athletic Director and Head Football Coach.

Yellow Jacket football players brightened the morning for Houston elementary students during a recent “Friday Mornings with the Jacket Family” meet-and-greet session.