10/06/2026
Hey Y'all,
As our first season comes to an end, I’ve had some time to look back at everything it took to get us here. And the biggest thing I keep coming back to is thank you.
When we started this journey, South Lake Tahoe didn’t have a Pop Warner program anymore. We were starting over. We had to build a board, find coaches, recruit players and cheerleaders, find equipment, raise money, get fields ready, organize volunteers, learn the rules, solve problems we never expected, and somehow turn all of that into an actual football and cheer program.
And we did. Not because of one person, and definitely not because everything went perfectly. We did it because a whole lot of people gave something to make it happen.
To our players and cheerleaders, thank you. You are the reason any of us did this. Some of you came into this season having played before, and some of you were learning football or cheer for the very first time. We watched you learn, struggle, improve, get frustrated, get back up, celebrate, compete, laugh, cry, and keep showing up.
Wins and losses will eventually become numbers that nobody remembers. What I will remember is watching kids who barely knew each other become teammates. I’ll remember the small victories that probably didn’t seem small to us coaches at all. The first tackle, the first catch, the first touchdown, the first time someone remembered their assignment, the first time a cheer finally came together, and all those moments where we could see the confidence starting to build.
You built something this year. You became the first group of kids to wear the Timberwolves uniform after this program was brought back to South Lake Tahoe. Nobody can ever take that away from you.
To our coaches, thank you for the hours you gave these kids. Thank you for showing up after work, giving up evenings and weekends, teaching fundamentals over and over again, setting up drills, making adjustments, encouraging kids when they needed it, holding them accountable when they needed that too, and caring about them as people and not just athletes.
Coaching youth sports can be exhausting, but there is something pretty special about getting to stand beside these kids while they discover what they are capable of. Thank you for taking that responsibility seriously and for helping give these kids something they can carry with them long after this season.
To our board members, team managers, committee members, parents, sponsors, donors, and every single volunteer, thank you. Thank you to everyone who worked the snack shack, ran the chains, handled MPR, worked the clock, helped with check-in, brought water, prepared the field, cleaned up afterward, handled paperwork, helped with registration and certification, worked on uniforms and equipment, organized fundraising, handled social media, helped with safety and scholastics, donated supplies, donated money, transported equipment, made phone calls, answered questions, and stepped in whenever something needed to be done.
There were so many jobs this season that most people never saw. Those jobs mattered. Every person who stepped up, whether it was for the entire season, one game, one practice, one event, or simply when we desperately needed another set of hands, helped make this possible.
I also want to specifically thank everyone who was part of this program at any point this season, even those who are no longer with us. People came and went. Roles changed. Things happened throughout a long season. But if you gave your time, your energy, your knowledge, your resources, or your support to helping us get this program off the ground, then you are part of the reason it exists today. That contribution matters, and I am grateful for it.
Building something from nothing isn’t easy. There were moments this year where we had no idea how we were going to solve the next problem. Equipment issues, scheduling changes, canceled games, volunteer needs, paperwork, fundraising, long practices, tough losses, and plenty of things happening behind the scenes. But every time something happened, somebody stepped up.
That is what I am most proud of. We didn’t just bring football and cheer back. We built a community.
We gave kids in South Lake Tahoe another place to belong. We gave them teammates. We gave them coaches who cared about them. We gave families something to come together around. We gave these kids a chance to put on a uniform with South Tahoe Timberwolves across it and know that they were part of something.
This season wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t supposed to be. It was the first one. We were learning as we went. We figured things out together, made mistakes, fixed them, adjusted, and kept moving forward because these kids were worth it.
Years from now, when this program has grown and there are new players, new coaches, new board members, and new families wearing Timberwolves blue and white, I hope everyone who was here this year can look at it and say, “We helped start that.” Because you did.
This was year one. No matter where this program goes from here, you will always be the people who helped bring it back.
Thank you for an unforgettable first season.
Go Timberwolves.
- Coach Shane
