The Zebra "Mom Squad" hides goodies in their car trunks.
They aren't storing Christmas presents for their sons. Rather, the surprise is treats and decorations for their Thursday night orchestrations as if they were little elves for the Zebra football players.
The players rush into the locker room on Friday to find gift bags filled with tokens of appreciation -- snacks, socks, words of encouragement and other fun stuff. On this particular Thursday night, the Mom Squad was preparing for Senior Night with special gifts for senior players including a framed picture of the player as a baby and in Zebra uniform with a personalized message, a T-shirt and snacks wrapped in a note with a picture of a Zebra that said "Congratulations! You have earned your stripes!"
"It shows that we support the kids and we encourage them," said Daisha Thompson, mother of junior Landon Holcomb. "We put the 'mom touch' on. We are a small but mighty group every week. It doesn't take a lot to show a kid you care. We want to say we are proud of their endeavors."
Thompson does her best thinking at night as she scrolls through Pinterest. One night, she had the idea to decorate the locker room. With new Zebra Coach Micheal Williams focused on building morale and cultivating positivity, she thought her idea might fly. It did -- throughout the school.
"Our Zebra Moms are the absolute best," Ronnieus Thompson, the school's interim principal, said. "Each mom has her own imprinting that makes her unique. The Zebra Moms show up for every game, prepare meals and are the biggest fans of the guys."
The Mom Squad began their mission at the season's first game, leaving treats for each game and decorating with Zebra-shaped balloons and inspirational signs throughout the locker room. They won't stop until the season ends.
Growing Up Together
Most of the Mom Squad have known one another for several years. Their children grew up together, and their sons played sports together at Jack Roby Junior High. But Thompson said any mom with a son on the team is a part of the "Mom Squad." It's not an exclusive group, and anyone who shows up is welcomed.
On Senior Night eve, Nicole Dendy sat in the locker room placing pictures of players in clear plastic frames. Her son, Austyn, is a junior who didn't play last year because of an injury. This year means a lot to him, and because he loves the team so much, so does she.
"With our kids, it doesn't take much," Dendy said. "They are acceptive and grateful. When kids are grateful for the little things, you know they are learning about life. Some kids don't get anything at home and we make sure they do here."
In previous weeks, moms Latrice Stripling, Sheveeka Collier, Jarneisha Gaines, Nicolette Lauren, Challon Iverson and Trammell Howell have helped with squad duties.
A New Attitude
For Williams, he feels like he is back in Texas where he last coached. There, decorating locker rooms was the norm and he's glad to see it at his alma mater.
"Our moms asked me before the season could they start decorating," Williams said. "They seemed a little nervous for that interaction with me but what they didn't know about me was in Texas that was a norm -- doing things like that let the players know we care about them. Their reactions when they walk into the locker room are priceless."
Dendy said Williams' perspective is unlike previous football seasons.
She said last year parents picked up their players after games with very little interaction with other parents except in the bleachers. Players didn't receive gift bags, and they didn't hang out after games in the fieldhouse. One reason was the covid-19 pandemic, but this year, under Williams' leadership, camaraderie is front and center.
"We get to go on the field and get pictures made with players and coaches," Dendy said. "It makes it feel more like a family."
When school was out for parent-teacher conferences on a recent game day, the team hung out in the fieldhouse from sunrise until they traveled to an away game.
After home and away games, players eat together. Zebra alumni, community and religious leaders and business owners have provided food for the team throughout the season on game nights and after practice and tutoring sessions.
"The community of Pine Bluff has rallied around the Zebras," Ronnieus Thompson said. "The support can be felt throughout the school."
This past Friday night, the class of 1985 provided food after the Zebras took on (and lost to) the Morrilton Devil Dogs.
"We love our schools and we love giving back," Dietrich Jones, a 1985 class member, said. "We love to see them prosper. As we say in the class of 1985, we try to keep it live."
Jones said he and his former classmates think Williams is doing a good job, especially implementing an after-school study hall for players and encouraging parent participation.
"That's what was needed," he said.
Moms Never Stop
LaTasha Carlock doesn't have a son on the Zebras team, but she is Mom Squad pal.
"It takes a village," Carlock, a 1995 PBHS graduate, said, working magic with a glue gun on a gift bag item. "I enjoy being part of their village. It's excellent to be able to give back to my alma mater."
PBHS graduate Kaleisha Wise has two sons -- Zae Barnett and Jaden Shelton -- on the team. Wise said her parents supported her during high school, and she feels a calling to do the same.
"I'm forever a Zebra," she said. "All of this gives the kids an added bonus."
Danyll Hughes, the mom of junior Courtney Crutchfield, said she loves that the moms have come together for the players.
"This is the first time the moms can come together and that's important," Hughes said.
Hughes and Candace Johnson, who has two sons -- Devin and Danny Johnson -- that play football, said the moms' efforts show support even before the team hits the field.
"It gives them an outlook to play hard not just for themselves and the coaches but for their supporters," Candace Johnson said. "It says if our parents can come together as a team and squad so we can we. We are giving support, love and care and they go and play their hearts out, win or lose."
Nicole Dendy shows a photo that seniors received Friday night as part of their special gift bag the Zebras Mom Squad created for them. (Pine Bluff Commercial/Suzi Parker)
Danyell Hughes puts snacks in bags that each Zebras gets in their sports locker on game day. (Pine Bluff Commercial/Suzi Parker)
LaTasha Carlock doesn't have a son playing Zebra football but she's an honorary "Mom Squad" member who helps the group with their crafty needs. (Pine Bluff Commercial/Suzi Parker)