As a coach, there is a large amount of pride in seeing your athletes succeed.
If that coach also happens to be the father of that athlete, as is the case of 40th Annual Kansas Shrine Bowl-bound Bryce Steiner, the pride felt could be more than doubled.
“I’m real proud of him,” Central Plains High School head coach Chris Steiner said. “I was real happy when he was nominated.
“It’s kind of been an ongoing joke ever since he was little that it’s a family tradition after I was in the Shrine Bowl, his uncle (Shawn Steiner) was and so was his cousin Marshall Musil.”
Bryce Steiner will look to take the field as a slot receiver for the West team in the Shrine Bowl, which will be held on Saturday night at Washburn University’s Yager Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7.
Bryce, who is in remission after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma last December, was a quarterback and defensive back in his senior campaign. He completed 62 of 136 passes for 922 yards and 11 touchdowns.
He averaged 102.4 yards per game as the Oilers went 4-5 on the season.
Bryce also rushed for 210 yards and a team-leading eight scores.
On defense, he recorded 89 tackles, 43 solo. He had a pair of interceptions.
The Shrine Bowl is a family affair for the Steiners.
“We have 13 hotel rooms and over 50 tickets,” Chris Steiner said. “There is a wedding and two family reunions going on at the same time, so half the family is skipping out to go to the game.”
Bryce is the first player in Central Plains’ three-year history to be selected for the Shrine Bowl.
For Claflin, who joined with Quivira Heights to form Central Plains, it ends a nine-year drought in selections. Claflin boasted 12 selections before the joining of the two districts.