Gravette player finds snake in his helmet

Discovery of unwanted reptilian guest disrupts Gravette football practice

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

— Darrick Strzelecki thought what he felt inside his football helmet was probably sweat or some hair that might have been caught in his helmet.

Gravette’s senior running back never expected to find what he did when he took his helmet off during a water break.

Inside was a small snake, and it disrupted last week Tuesday afternoon’s practice session for a short time.

“I thought it was going to be a typical practice,” he said Wednesday. “It definitely wasn’t for a while.”

Gravette coach Bill Harrelson, who estimated the snake’s length at 10 to 12 inches, isn’t sure how the snake made its way inside the Gravette fieldhouse and into the helmet.

Strzelecki didn’t take the helmet off at any time once he stepped out on the practice field Tuesday afternoon.

The Lions practiced for only about 15 minutes and had worked on special teams before Harrelson called for a break. That’s when Strzelecki took off his helmet and made his startling discovery.

“I felt it move when we were working on PATs ( extra-point kicks),” he said.

“So I kept hitting, and it just kept bothering me.

“It looked like a rubber snake, and I thought somebody had pulled a practical joke on me. When I grabbed it by the tail, that’s when it jerked, and I dropped the helmet.”

He then gave the helmet a slight nudge with his foot when the snake didn’t fall out from the drop.

It left the helmet and was killed at that point. Assistant coach Seth McKinzie - whose father is a game warden - said he didn’t believe it was poisonous after closer observation.

Harrelson, who admitted he is afraid of snakes,didn’t take any chances.

He contacted athletic director Norman Mitchell about the situation and had players go to their lockers and get out what they needed.

School maintenance personnel were sent to the fieldhouse Wednesday morning and checked out every part of the senior high and junior high locker rooms. No other evidence of snakes was found inside.

“It’s funny now, but it is something I don’t take lightly,” Harrelson said.

“All snakes are deadly in my book.

“I couldn’t believe it when his helmet hit theground. It was a weird deal, and I know it affected him.”

Strzelecki admitted he never learned to be afraid of snakes, but this situation startled him for a while. He said it took him about five minutes to build up the courage to put the helmet back on his head, but not before he looked in every corner of it.

“When you have it crawling on your head, it freaks you out,” he said. “It creeped me out. Even through the rest of practice, it felt like the snake was still crawling on me.”

It didn’t help Strzelecki out any that his teammates didn’t let the situation golightly. Other players made hissing sounds at him, called him “snake boy” or even stuck their fingers in the ear holes of Strzelecki’s helmet and wiggled them like snakes.

He made sure there wasn’t a repeat situation Wednesday and checked all through his helmet before he put it on.

Meanwhile, the senior running back is thankful the situation wasn’t any worse.

“I’m just thankful God was watching over me,” he said. “I had that helmet on for 30-plus minutes, and that snake did not bite me one time. I’m a blessed individual.”

Sports, Pages 9 on 08/31/2011