SuppliedAfter each game, the University of Alberta Pandas basketball team honours two of its players. One is given the White Jacket Award and the other is given the Patches Award. The White Jacket was the first tradition the team adopted.
Head Coach Scott Edwards was looking for something to do post-games in 2012. The White Jacket is what they landed on. It honours athletes for their game performance, but not necessarily the most valuable player.
“You’ll see a lot of teams do pictures after games and things like that. I like to take credit for that a little bit [from] our program. I think we started that in Canada anyway, at the [U of A] and it started with this jacket,” Edwards said.
The history of the White Jacket
Edwards was a professor of kinesiology early on in his coaching career for the Pandas. A student in his class, former Golden Bears football quarterback Curtis Dell, found the 1988 Pandas team jacket at a Goodwill.
“[Dell] sent me a picture. He said, Coach, do you want this jacket? It’s five bucks. And I said, absolutely. Curtis, buy that jacket and I’ll pay back on Tuesday when I see you in class. He never actually took me up on that. He just did it as a donation to the team. But we kept the jacket. It was perfect,” Edwards said.
The coaching staff awards the jacket to the “internal player of the game,” someone with the best overall performance from the team’s perspective.
“Our assistant coaches convene after the games. They go through how everybody played. It’s not necessarily the best scorer, but it’s the best overall performance within your role for the team that night,” Edwards said.
“We gave her the jacket, and the team carried her on their shoulders out into the crowd,” Edwards says
The team has made it such a staple that fans have started betting on which player will receive the jacket. After each game, the athlete who receives the jacket wears it into the stands.
“Last year at nationals, when our young point guard, Bridget Olson, had a great game, the crowd was very excited because they were hoping she would get the award. We gave her the jacket, and the team carried her on their shoulders out into the crowd and it was a really cool scene,” Edwards said.
Edwards added that the jacket has become a “really fun tradition for [the team].”
“I was really proud of the way our athletes originally embraced the whole idea, and I know that they even have it in their head who they think should win it each night.”
Since the Pandas go to away games frequently, there is a rule that the player who won the jacket the previous week has to wear it on the plane. Honoured athletes are tasked with making sure they don’t forget the jacket on trips.
“If anyone asks why they wore the jacket, they get to tell their story personally and [it’s] just [a] nice way to honour some athletes who have outstanding performances,” Edwards said.
The rise of Patches and Karen
The Pandas basketball team has two more traditions that they follow throughout the season. Every Saturday, the team awards Patches, a panda stuffy, to the “unsung hero” of the weekend. Patches is awarded to athletes by coaches depending on what they were looking for that weekend.
“The Patches Award was donated to the team by a Pandas parent. We hand that award out to somebody who really outperformed their role over two full games. [Someone] who was a catalyst to the team’s effort for the weekend,” Edwards said.
Another is Karen, an embroidered panda rug. This was a present from Edwards’ mother, and is a rather large piece of work. Although his mother intended to hang it on a wall, Edwards decided to dedicate the rug to away trips. Karen is laid out on the team floor for each game.
“We call her Karen, because my mom’s name is Karen, [to honour] my mom [who] was probably our number one fan. It’s a neat way to keep her connected to the team,” Edwards said.
Although not an award, a dedicated athlete takes care of Karen for the full season and brings her to away games. This player is decided amongst the athletes every year.
“It’s a neat little thing we do to remind us where we’re from, and of our family,” Edwards said.
Edwards highlights that every sports team usually has some traditions for their players and teams. The important aspect of the White Jacket and Patches is that they give it out regardless of a win or a loss for the team.
“We’re going to celebrate them and take pictures, no matter what happened. That’s not going to change. Things are bigger than just the games themselves.”
