The Bell Gardens Youth Football Team is starting preseason practice with a big blow after someone stole their equipment.
"Season's almost here, and we don't know how we are going to play yet," Isiah Reyes, a football player on the team, says.
The team is unable to do hitting drills here because their pads, helmets and equipment have all been stolen after someone broke into the team's storage over the weekend and emptied the shelves.
"It breaks your heart, the worst kind of crook is someone who steals from young kids or older adults," Bell Gardens Police Chief Scott Fairfield said.
Fairfield took to his Instagram to challenge the community to match his $100 donation to the team.
"Just prior to coming here, I picked up $1,600 in checks from local business owners in our city and cities around," Fairfield said.
The theft is teaching these football players valuable lessons in overcoming adversity and the power of teamwork.
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"You guys already know what happened. That's life. There's a lot of bad people out there," the team's coach, Martin Tellez, addressed his players.
The coach added, "You know what, we moved forward. We're a family. Start the season as family and end it as a family."
In unison, the team yells, "Family!"
