ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Less than 24 hours after reporting to their respective training camps in Salina and Emporia, members of the two Kansas Shrine Bowl football teams embarked on a day-long trip that has become one of the highlights for players and coaches participating in the state’s premier all-star football game.
Iola High’s Kyler Thompson and Crest High’s Micah Smith were among a group of about 135 players, coaches, managers, trainers, media personnel, and Shriners from around Kansas who made the traditional trip to the St. Louis Unit of Shriners Hospital for Children.
The group left Kansas City’s Union Station at 7:30 Saturday morning. This was the second straight year that Shrine Bowl teams have traveled to St. Louis via Amtrak, a five-hour trip (each way) that makes for a long day, but provides multiple rewards for the travelers.
They were bused from Kirkwood, Mo., to the Shrin-ers Hospital for a light lunch, then split into smaller groups and were escorted on tours of the St. Louis hospital, a pediatric hospital that specializes in orthopedics. It’s the second busiest hospital of the 22 North American Shriners hospitals, with over 100 surgeries performed each month. Over 1,000 children from birth to 18 years old also receive outpatient treatment in St. Louis.
Tours of the hospital’s treatment rooms, its workshop where custom-made prosthetic devices are de-vised for young patients, and visits with several of the patients and their parents were organized by the hospital staff. In some cases, the groups were led and lectured by people who know and understand best what the hospital does, young patients themselves, some as young as 10 years old.
It’s in the hospital’s recreation room, where Shrine Bowl players meet Shriners hospital patients in an atmosphere that has been described by some as “magic.” The players soon learn that the young patients are often motivated by other people saying they “can’t” to various activities, and set out to prove that they “can.” And there’s friendly competition. More than one Shrine Bowl player — and coach — has been humbled at a simple game of air hockey by young patients.
Thompson and Smith are players on the East Squad. The annual East-West game kicks off at 7 p.m, Saturday at Pittsburg State University’s Carnie Smith Stadium in Pittsburg.
Proceeds from all Shrine Bowl events support the Shriners Hospitals for Children, a network of 22 hospitals that provide expert, no-cost orthopedic, burn, and spinal care to children un-der 18.
Children are admitted free to Shriners Hospitals for Children without regard for race, religion, nationality, creed, or relationship to a Shriner.
Advance reserved chair back tickets for the game are $20.
Adult general admission tickets are $12 in advance. Student tickets (K-12) are $6 in advance. Game day tickets, if available, are $1 more at the gate.
Additional information and tickets may be purchased through the Shrine Bowl office by calling 1-800-530-5524. The Shrine Bowl Web site address is ksshrine.com and the e-mail address is [email protected]. Online ticket orders are at pittstate.edu/office/tickets/athletics/index.dot.
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