Student athletes are often seen as leaders and role models at their schools, and this is especially true of football players. Coaches often end up providing these athletes with a positive role model of their own that they are sometimes lacking at home, and Lakewood High School’s football coach Tom Thome takes this very seriously.

Coach Thome of Ohio was talking to his school’s assistant principal Brian Siftar when the subject of the school district’s planned “Father’s Day Walk” came up. Each day during the “Father’s Walk,” students can have their dads show up to walk them into school. While this is a fun bonding experience for many, it’s a sad day for kids who don’t have fathers in their lives.

When Thome realized that many of his players came from single-parent homes, he decided to have his student athletes step in for other children who come from fatherless homes.

On the day of the “Father’s Walk,” Thome had his players go to every elementary school in the city to stand in for the dads who couldn’t be there for their kids. He described this as a way to give back to the community that has supported the Rangers team at every opportunity.

“Lakewood fans continue to come out and support our teams and we wanted to give back,” he said.

Dressed in their game day jerseys, the football players showed up to make sure no student in the district walked alone. Not only was this an opportunity for the high school players to act as role models for kids, it was also a chance for them to give back to their old elementary schools and see all of the teachers who’d helped them along the way.

“All of the upperclassmen went back to the elementary school they attended,” said the coach. “It was neat speaking with teachers who had my players and hearing about how much they have changed since those days.”

Thome said that as someone who grew up in a different town, he was impressed by the tight-knit bond shared by the citizens of Lakewood.

“Everybody here goes out of their way to help each other out and I’m proud to be apart of that,” he said.

We applaud Thome for inspiring his players to be the best role models and leaders that they can be!