Adrian Phillips began the tradition back in middle school. Before every practice and game, he would take a moment and a knee and say some prayers.
“I’m always praying for my family, friends, guys out on the field that we don’t get injured,” Phillips said. “But, depending on the times that we’re in within the world, like if there’s, God forbid, a mass shooting or a lot of deaths and stuff, I pray for those families and everything, but it’s more of just for me to stay grateful and not take anything for granted. It’s kind of how I was raised and how I grew up and so it always stuck with me.