Alabama high school football player surprised by father returning from military duty, disguised as referee
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
A high school football player in the state of Alabama received quite a heartwarming surprise before a recent game.
On Oct. 18, 9th-grader Fred Grooms and his Helena High School teammates took the field for a pregame coin toss. Grooms’ father had been deployed with the U.S. Army in Kuwait for a year.
What Grooms didn’t know was that his father had returned home and was not only at the game, but disguised as one of the referees on the field. It made for an emotional reunion for both father and son.
You can take a look at the video below, which was posted to the high school’s Twitter account:
9th grade Husky Fred Grooms got a big suprise from Army Father Returning after being away a year. Thank you for your service Mr Grooms and we are glad you are home! @AHSAAUpdates @WBRCsideline @abc3340sports @RickKarle @cbs42 @Helena_AL_HAA @HelenaHSSports @HelenaHSSports pic.twitter.com/jUyyRsggPe
— HelenaHSFootball (@football_helena) October 18, 2021
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
