Mission Trail Middle School: Why Dads Keep Coming Back

By Jim Bradford, Chapter Co-Chair at Mission Trail Middle School for Father’s Club

From day 1, we’ve been blessed with great buy-in at Mission Trail Middle School (MT) in Olathe. With more than 100 dads on the e-mail list and a consistent presence from a third of those dads, the Timberwolves are pretty lucky. And so are the fathers who take the time, make the time and enjoy the time.

At Mission Trail, our heavy lifting comes each Friday morning.

Since we started the Father’s Club at Mission Trail, we’ve had at least one father there to greet students with a fist bump every Friday morning. Often we’ll have four or five dads on Friday mornings, enough to man the front and back doors. We’ve even sprinkled in some random “first day back” and “just because” fist bumps, too.

We’ve been there with a fist bump and smile for the T-Wolves close to 100 times. While it’s something the Mission Trail Father’s Club is proud of, it’s not something we pump our chests about. It’s about being there for the students. And as cliched as that may sound, that’s the real reason. That’s our why – the students.

We know the kids by name. We know who needs a little extra love in the morning. We know who’s a bit more reluctant to engage, so we engage a bit differently. Some love the booming hellos, the quick 10-15 second conversations or even a high five. (We do allow those at Fist Bump Fridays.) We know who’s the first to get dropped off. We know the last. We know our kiddos and we love being there for them.

Student Engagement

The engagement with our students is the reason we are back, week after week, event after event to connect with them somehow, some way. It’s not a chore to have to show up at 7:30 a.m. on a Friday for the Mission Trail dads. Over the past three months, we’ve had 16 different dads show up on Friday mornings.

That’s what we’re most proud of, not the countless Fridays in a row, but the diversity of dads. It’s not just the same two or three dads showing up each Friday. Oh, we have some stalwarts. Some studs that are earning their keep, but it’s rare that we have the same two or three dads two weeks in a row.

While the students are the real reason why, it’s not the only reason. There’s a connection that we make with each other as dads. We look forward to catching up with each other.

Just a couple of weeks ago, a dad came up to me at a Friday night basketball game at Olathe West (Mission Trail’s feeder high school) and jokingly read me the riot act for missing that morning’s Fist Bump Friday. “Hey, where the heck were ya?” he said, as he slapped me on the back. “Don’t ever do that again.”

I knew he was joking, but it got me thinking. I did miss seeing my MT kiddos that day AND my fellow Father’s Club fist bumpers. I guess there’s more than just one reason we keep coming back.

Next Steps

• To get involved with a Father’s Club chapter at your school, visit the Chapters page on our website.
• If there isn’t a chapter currently at your school and you would like to know more about starting a Father’s Club chapter, visit the Contact page and fill out the form with your details and we will be in touch!