The Turkey Bowl is a Northside event, where teams of up to five to eight students compete in a flag football tournament. Winners are awarded medals and, of course, the honor of bragging rights. Yet under all the competition and excitement, one question remains: who’s behind it all?

Selected juniors are enrolled in a special class called Junior Leaders, which is taught by Coach Michael Heavey. For the past few years, the students in this class have been responsible for organizing and running Turkey Bowl. Their leadership has helped the event run smoothly, making it a fun tradition for students every year. 

Coach Heavey has been running the Turkey Bowl for 12-15 years now. The tradition originated with the Student Council running the Turkey Bowl, but when they stepped away, he was more than thrilled to “pick up the reins.” 

He explained that even though running the Turkey Bowl isn’t something that is listed in the requirements when opting into junior leaders, “year after year, it quietly becomes part of the culture.” 

It’s a way for students to gain “hands-on leadership and problem-solving” experiences. On top of that, it can “bring the class closer.”