East Anchorage football team wins $10,000 grant — and gets a message from Peyton Manning

East Anchorage T-birds football coach Jeff Trotter received a pleasant surprise this week when he received an email with a video of Peyton Manning congratulating his team for winning a $10,000 football grant from sports equipment company Riddell.

The Thunderbirds were one of 10 teams across the nation to receive the Riddell's Smarter Football program grant. East was one of more than 700 applicants.

When Trotter didn't hear from Riddell the first week of October, when the winners were expected to be announced, he figured East was out of the running.

"Oct. 1 came and went and we were like 'Oh man, we didn't get it,' " Trotter said. "It almost made it a little bit nicer because it was a little more of a surprise."

East was awarded the grant primarily for its use of  "Hawk Tackling" techniques — which focus on safe tackling — and its "Work for Relief" program that helps set up players with odd jobs in the community to raise money for football expenses.

Trotter said the grant comes at a good time, because the team must replace 20 to 30 helmets before next season.

"It's $400 a helmet with shipping and all that," he said. "We were really worried about where we were going to come up with the funds for this and still have money for uniforms and other stuff like that.

"It's 30 grand-a-year-plus to keep a football program going. It came at a good time."

For the past four years, East has practiced "Hawk Tackling," which stems from instructional videos produced by the Seattle Seahawks.

The techniques use rugby-style tackling with a focus on limiting contact to the head. Players are taught to tackle with their head to the side of the ball carrier instead of across the chest the way players were taught for years.

"We're trying to develop new habits," Trotter said. "For us it's hard because that's not the way we were taught. We had to learn it first so we could teach it properly."

Trotter implemented the "Work for Relief" program in 2011 to help his players raise money for football expenses. Players do everything from sweeping parking lots to helping companies and homeowners move to lawn work and landscaping.

When the job is done, the business or individual makes a donation to the East booster club and the funds are distributed into an account for each player who worked on the job. The team advertises the program on its Facebook page and team website.

"Everyone has been super generous," Trotter said.

First National Bowl

Division I football semifinals
Anchorage Football Stadium

Division II championship
Machetanz Field, Palmer

Division III championship
Machetanz Field, Palmer