HAIR RAZING
Members of Davenport's football team donated their hair to help children and young adults in need
DAVENPORT – As the scissors snipped and clippers trimmed, faces continued to quiver as more and more hair fell to the floor.
Nine members of the Davenport football team have grown their hair out since April, and some of them since junior high, in preparation for Tuesday's haircut. The Bulldogs' locker room turned into a salon, with hair scattered throughout instead of cleats and mouth pieces. The boys were cutting their hair to donate to charity, something coach John Greenfield had been planning since April.
One by one, t he boys trickled from the couches to the signified barber's chair, where Ally Ledgerwood, the mother of one of Davenport's players, awaited for the next mane to chop off.
“I don't know what my girlfriend is going to say about this,” senior Jaxson Walker said after being the first to get his hair cut.
A team mate jokingly retorted, “You may be looking for a new one soon.”
Walker said the last time he had his hair buzzed was in junior high and that he only trimmed it otherwise. That changed Tuesday.
Davenport, a Class B football program and small school nestled off Highway 66 between Chandler and Stroud,hasju st over 30 players on its football team. Only nine were able to donate their hair Tuesday, but others tried growing theirs out. It just didn't reach the minimum length of 8 inches needed to donate the hair to Children with Hair Loss, a non-profit that provides human hair replacement at no cost to children and young adults facing medically related hair loss.
“It's really neat that we're hopefully able to help out in one way or another ,” Greenfield said. “
During spring practices, Greenfield was joking with a few of his players who always have sported longer hair that they should do something with it. The players agreed, and the growing commenced.
As the days crept closer to Tuesday, some started to have second thoughts, but there was no turning back when the first clippers snipped the first bit of hair.
When the haircuts were over, the hair was put into plastic bags then into a yellow envelope to be sent off. The extra trimmings fell to the floor, and nearly each player had Ledgerwood finish their cut in a different way.
Even as jokes cracked between friends about their new looks, each of them smiled and realized what they were doing would benefit someone else.
“I haven't cut mine in forever, but this is definitely worth it,” senior Cal Harelson said.