High school athletes are constantly on the field or court competing for their respective school, but not often is an athlete given the chance to raise money for a cause while doing it. In the case of Grant Tagge, a special organization has given him the chance to donate money for every highlight play he makes during his senior football season.

The organization, titled Athletes 4 Children, is designed to raise money for the Children’s Hospital and Medical Center under a “pledge-play-pay” system. Athletes from all around Nebraska have been pledging a certain amount of money for every tackle, win, goal, or hit, depending on the sport that they play. Last year, the organization got a pledge from 34 players across 17 schools and 15 cities. 

Athletes 4 Children got in touch with Westside Football after the end of last season, hoping to expose players such as Tagge to the idea of following the footsteps of their peers across the state.

“They messaged us about coming by one of the hospitals and hanging out with the kids,” Tagge said. “We planned a time to do that and pledged to what we were going to do with the hospital.”

This past summer, Tagge decided to join the cause by personally pledging one dollar per tackle, three dollars per sack, and five dollars per interception or touchdown. He said that the process of making the pledge can be very personalized for each player. 

“They leave it up to you,” Tagge said. “You can match another athlete at your position or just do it by yourself. I just looked at what everyone else did and made it my own.”

Although Tagge is the only player from any Westside sport to make this pledge as of now, he is currently talking to a couple of other players on the football team who may be interested in joining the organization. He said that while what he is doing may seem generous, it is just another facet of the program he has been apart of for the last four years.

“It’s really cool to give back to them,” Tagge said. “Our whole mission in Westside Football is serving others. That’s part of being on the team. You have to buy in to serving others.”

Read more about Tagge’s involvement and Athletes 4 Children in the next edition of The Lance.