Team Traditions: Play like a RAIL

In the world of athletics many teams have their own traditions. Some are rooted in comedy inspiring locker room laughs, while others tie in industries tracking back to the origin of home towns.

WDIO kicks off this week’s team tradition with the Proctor Rails.

"We love the railroad mentality that we have here. A lot of kids go on to work on there have really great jobs, and great family men from there on, so we like to tie back to our railroad heritage," explained Derek Parendo, head coach of the Proctor football team.

Already running under the Rails name, with tracks lining their helmets, Proctor football has now further deepened their ties between yards on the gridiron and the rail yards by introducing a new team trophy. It’s the Play like a Rail piece of rail.

"What it means is you play like a Rail, which is tough, straight, you listen to what we need to do. You’re just a very valuable piece of where we’re going and your head is in the right direction," Parendo said.

The player of the week gets to keep the trophy in their locker and write their name on it. The first ever to the pen the rail was senior running back and linebacker Nolan McLeod, following Proctor’s week one match against Cloquet.

Feels pretty good," McLeod said. "Obviously try to go out every week and just play the hardest I can."

McLeod added that playing like a Rail is not about who’s the best, but who puts in the most effort.

"The Rail stands for a lot of what we try to do when we’re playing football out here," McLeod said. ‘Carries a lot of weight, it leads the way."

The team looks to keep the trophy in the Proctor football family for years to come.