Florida Gators going abroad with the GatorMade program

The Florida Gators will be heading abroad this Summer. Thanks to the GatorMade program, 10 Gators football players and six UF women student-athletes are crossing the Atlantic to serve those less fortunate in Greece. Billy Napier first mentioned this trip in April, and now it is a reality.

The 16 student-athletes will leave this Saturday with Senior Director of Player Relations, Savannah Bailey. While the trip will serve the student-athletes as a chance to see a different part of the world and experience its culture, it is not the sole purpose. The bulk of their time will be spent as volunteers connected to an organization known as “The Smile of the Child.”

“We’ll be doing primarily all of our service work in Athens,” Bailey said to UF senior writer Scott Carter. “Now you have a lot of Ukrainian refugees, who were of Greek ethnicity, coming back to Greece without a home, meals, or clothing. You’ve got families and children that have traumatic experiences, and we want to be intentional in how we serve them.

“I think that brings home the message that anyone can serve anywhere, so whether it’s across the world, in your hometown, or right here in Gainesville, there’s always going to be someone who needs help. Hopefully, that’s what we get to instill: how to look for those opportunities, and how to pay attention to the world and what’s happening so when those opportunities arise, you can be proactive.”

Gators volunteering in Athens

Bailey organized trips like this while she was on staff at Clemson and Napier felt it was important to incorporate at Florida. He tapped Bailey to run the GatorMade program and she has spent a lot of time organizing this service trip.

“First of all, we specifically call it service abroad. There is an intent behind it. We’re going to help other people. At the same time, really create a unique experience for the player,” Napier told Carter. “In my life, going places and experiencing other people and other places, having a visual of what it’s like — and coming to grips with how great of a country we live and how unbelievable of an opportunity that we have — these experiences are about creating perspective for the player.

“And you really want to have a place where you have a well-rounded experience. You’re not only competing on the field at a very high level, but you have an organization that is really making an impact on whom they are as people, prioritizing education. I just think you come back from these experiences, whether it was business weekend in Atlanta, micro internships, you come back from those and now have a little bit more of a vision of what I’m here to do. It’s really what college athletics should be. For some of our young people, it will be life-changing.”

What is the Gator Made program?

The GatorMade program, launched by head coach Billy Napier in January, is a holistic player-focused and purpose-driven initiative that develops football players during their time at UF and beyond. The program has already provided the Gators with several opportunities.

This week director of nutrition Kelsee Gomes showed the football players how to grill.

The GatorMade program also held an Etiquette Dinner at Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille on June 9 for the recent 2022 signees who reported to campus for enrollment. The early enrollees also took part in the dinner.

Over spring break, nine UF football players spent four days in Atlanta for a weekend of professional exposure, exploration, and experience.

Men’s Wearhouse measured the entire Florida football team for two custom-tailored suits earlier this month, and last week GatorMade provided a financial literacy session for the players from the NIL consulting firm Team Altemus.