The helmet of Orlando Gomez (75) showcases four different stickers including the “ABC” sticker, chosen by the RCAA as a Certified 2024 leader.

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - Helmet reward stickers for on-field achievement have been around since Bo Schembechler began using them at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio back in 1965.

Spring forward to 2024. At Cordova High School, a dozen different stickers go far beyond being awarded to players for wins and scoring touchdowns. Rather, they are earned for a wide range of activities with the long game in mind, preparing young men to become community-minded, productive members of society.

Clearly, the sticker paradigm has evolved into more purpose-based transformational coaching and preparing athletes for adulthood.

The godfather of this philosophy is former NFL player Joe Ehrmann, who wrote the blueprint in his 2004 book “Season of Life.” The approach emphasizes healthy masculinity and relationship development through three concepts: Give to a cause larger than yourself; leave the world better than you found it; and practice radical inclusion. Ehrmann is President of the InSideOut Initiative, an evidenced-based, systems-level approach that inspires and catalyzes communities to transform the current interscholastic sports culture to one that values the human growth and development of student-athletes.

JP Dolliver, in his second year as varsity head football coach, and Jason Harper, director of the Rancho Cordova Athletic Association, have adopted Ehrmann principles and play a central role in the sea change that is occurring at Cordova High School. Dolliver is the school’s athletic director while Harper pulls double duty as director of character development.

“I think the players recognize that character impacts their own lives,” Dolliver said. “This has to be top of mind in our program. We’re trying to build and strengthen the minds of young men, and what kind of character they have is starting to be more present in their lives.”

Said Harper, “All this is designed to teach athletes to chase after the best version of themselves. To create opportunities and outlets for these young people to showcase and be recognized for their goodness and build character within the community.”

Zach McIntire (18) is a sophomore who has already demonstrated team leadership, receiving ABC and Superman stickers for service above self.

Ehrmann was ahead of the curve. Several years ago, a study by online journal PLoS ONE found that male athletes significantly modified their approach to competition, sacrificing their own best interest to serve the needs of the team. 

Taking this to the next level, if a singular sticker can reward great plays and touchdowns, imagine what a dozen different service-oriented and life skills stickers would do to build character and enhance an athlete’s commitment to community. And that’s what coaches are excited about the most.

Harper has extensive history with other high-flying character programs, including Del Oro, Oak Ridge and Destiny (formerly Capital Christian) high schools, each with great success. The incubator for character development were character combines that Harper created and ran for nearly 15 years, a must-attend for coaches and players throughout the region.

“Being a part of something larger than themselves is what it’s all about,” Harper said. “What we are doing is preparing athletes not just for the next game but for life. It’s that important.”

Two of the Sacramento region’s most respected coaches, Steve Eakes of Highlands and Casey Taylor of Oak Ridge, were early adopters of the concept.

Eakes, a former pro baseball player, attended one of Harper’s early character combines and hasn’t looked back.

“As players, you represent everyone in your circle. Family, friends and the family you don’t have. It all expands out,” Eakes said.  “It’s more important to win those kids over, teach them something that will benefit them later in life. You’re thinking of others to advance yourself. Life stuff.” 

Taylor’s teams won seven section championships, six at Del Oro and one at Capital Christian in 2018, and has coached teams to four state bowl games and one CIF state title.

“Joe Ehrmann’s approach completely changed my thinking toward coaching. When kids understand that coaches are there for them through thick and thin, that’s huge. Caring about other things than football, teaching them life skillsets.” Taylor explained.

The stickers reflect a different life skill. Cordova football players can earn up to a dozen different sticker combinations this year:

ABC: awarded to those chosen by the Rancho Cordova Athletic Association as a Certified 2024 Leader. The A signifies Always Compete. B is Be Respectful to all, including parents, officials, the opposing team, everyone. C is Commit to Cordova. Harper envisions the movement will catch on quickly to other sports.

Rancho Cordova Athletic Association Hall of Fame Host: Five-point red star signifies players who participated as hosts at the ninth induction of the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame on Sept. 14. Dressed in crisp pants and their varsity home jerseys, more than two dozen players were the embodiment of courtesy, as they welcomed attendees and inductees with respect and honor.

XMAS: Any member of the team who volunteers for the upcoming Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Village Green earns an XMAS sticker.  

916: Every team member received this sticker, which represents where they live with the full knowledge that an entire city is behind them. They represent an entire area code. 

Superman: Players earn this sticker for community service in a wide range of activities such as participation in the annual Rancho Cordova International Festival (iFest) and the recent Kids Day. 

American Flag: participating in major citywide events, such installing flags along Folsom Boulevard in advance of Veteran’s Day. 

Title IX: Celebrating women’s athletics. Several events have been slated where the entire football team shows up at what would be modestly attended events and blow the roof off the place as a special cheering section. 

Academics: Two stickers for earning academic achievement: a 2.7 sticker and a 3.0. This year at grade check, every varsity player had achieved a 3.0 GPA.

Full Gas, No Brakes: adorned with the Lancer Shield, is awarded at the coach’s discretion for unobtrusive acts of compassion and leadership by example. 

Cordova Shield: The traditional sticker for performance and victories. The maximum any player can earn is five. Players are awarded these stickers at the weekly Thursday team dinner.

Bull’s Eye: Two stickers can be earned for preparedness and completing tasks. One is a near-miss that signifies the player did everything correctly but missed the mark; the other is awarded for hitting the mark.

Cordova High School football players can earn up to a dozen different stickers, each representing an aspect of personal growth.

As the school year unfolds, Dolliver and Harper envision the movement catching on with other sports. Thus far, results are encouraging. For example, a football player on campus risked his own tardiness by assisting another student in a wheelchair get to class on time. Result, the player earned a Lancer Leadership sticker. On another occasion when Hall of Fame service stickers were awarded, one athlete declined the sticker, admitting that he did not participate with his teammates. “That right there shows me the program is working,” Harper said. 

Mike Marando is a former sportswriter for the Sacramento Union and Green Sheet, 1973 Cordova High School graduate and chairperson to the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame