Reinebold Merges Passion For Football And Community Through Big Brothers Big Sisters

As 12-year-old Alex walks into the Hamilton Tiger-Cats locker room at Tim Hortons Field, there is a certain spark in his eye.
It’s about an hour and a half before the Ticats take the field against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on July 7 and the dressing room is filled with players preparing for the game. Many of the athletes take time out of their pregame rituals to shake Alex’s hand and introduce themselves to the wide-eyed youngster.
“It’s really cool to see all of them and what they do,” said Alex. “It’s fun to see them stretch.”
Alex is a part of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hamilton and Burlington. He and his mentor through the program, Liam, are being given a personal tour by Ticats Special Teams Co-ordinator Jeff Reinebold.

(L-R) Brandon Banks, Liam, Alex, Jeff Reinebold, Chad Owens

The two are there as Reinebold’s special guest as part of the coach’s initiative to bring a ‘big’ and a ‘little’ from Big Brothers Big Sisters to each home game. The pair is given tickets to the game and also get to tour the facilities of the stadium where the final stop is stepping foot on the turf of Tim Hortons Field.
Alex’s favourite part of the tour?
“Probably the locker room,” he replies.
Reinebold signed a contract extension with the Black and Gold on June 30 that will keep him with the Ticats through the 2017 season. Starting a relationship with Big Brothers Big Sisters was one of the talking points he tabled during the discussions.
“When we were renegotiating my contract, that was one of the things that I went to Scott [Mitchell] and Kent [Austin] about, was I wanted to be able to do it,” said Reinebold. “And as they always are, they just said, ‘That’s a great thing, let’s go do it.’ There was no, ‘No we don’t want to get involved with that.’ It’s just indicative of what this organization is about.”
Reinebold’s passion to help children in his community started long before he ever stepped foot in Hamilton. It began with the opportunity to have a little brother through a program with the NCAA when Reinebold played football at the University of Maine.
“I saw how much joy that brought to his life, to be able to hang around the team and come to the games and get to know the players on the field as more than just No. 25 running around out there,” said Reinebold.
“It can change lives.”
He had another little brother during one of his first coaching jobs at the University of Montana in Missoula.
“When you’re in pro sports, that’s a really cool thing,” said Reinebold. “But the coolest thing is when you can use that platform to help other people.”
There are currently 166 youth in the Hamilton and Burlington area waiting to be paired up with a mentor, according to the Big Brothers Big Sisters website. Approximately 80% of those kids are males. Last year more than 300 children were on the waiting list and the local branch was forced to temporarily stop the intake of new ‘littles.’ The program has since opened its doors again, but some of the kids had been waiting for more than two years to be paired with a mentor.

All smiles at Tim Hortons Field

Alex was one of those cases. His parents are divorced and he does not get to see his father often. Alex waited for a big brother for two and half years before being paired with Liam in January. The two enjoy playing sports together and can often be found at a park throwing a football around or hanging out at the beach.
Two different pairings have been able to go to the first two home games at Tim Hortons Field. The Ticats fell in both contests, but achieved a special victory off the field according to Director of Group Programming Marika Mennaman.
Mennaman described the first ‘little’ who attended the game as someone who “normally doesn’t show any excitement.” The ‘big’ was eager to report back that his ‘little’ was giddy with enthusiasm the entire game and that he described meeting his favourite player, Simoni Lawrence, as “the best moment of his life.”
As for Alex, Mennaman said that she’s heard he has worn his Ticats shirt almost every day since attending the game.
“When we think about the kids on the case load, some of them, they go to school and everyone kind of brags about things they did on the weekend and they’re usually the listeners,” said Mennaman. “And then in this case, they get that cool factor of saying they got to tour the Ticats stadium and meet the players. It’s a really great opportunity for them.”
Reinebold says he plans on continuing the relationship with Big Brothers Big Sisters each year he is in Hamilton with the hopes of getting more children involved. He calls the initiative the “Ohana Project,” which means extended family in Hawaiian culture.
Giving back is a philosophy that he practices, but also preaches to his players.
“We have a responsibility, a social responsibility, to the city and community we live in and humanity in general to try and use what we have to do good for others,” said Reinebold. “In the special teams meetings, we talk all the time about what you give will grow, what you keep will die.
“And that’s what we’re trying to do, is to give.”
*Visit the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hamilton & Burlington website for more details on the program and information on how to become a mentor.