Patriot players put on their Belichick hats and serve as coaches for third annual BELL Bowl at Gillette Stadium

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 19th, 2010 at 1:40 pm and is filed under the Boston Herald's offseason. You can follow any responses to this entry through the Boston Herald's RSS 2.0 feed.

Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo, Pierre Woods, Sammy Morris, Terrence Wheatley, Eric Alexander, Brandon Tate, Ron Brace and Tully Banta-Cain were among the group of Patriots players who drew on their inner Bill Belichick to serve as coaches for the third annual BELL Bowl at Gillette Stadium today.

Twelve teams engaged in the flag football tournament as part of the event put on by BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life).  The organization and this event in particular has helped raise support for thousands of children in Boston to participate in BELL's educational summer and after school programs.

"Any time we can do something like this is great. I like to give back. It's nothing but time," said Wilfork (left), who served as the ambassador of the event. "A lot of times it's not all about money. It's about benefiting a great cause. Something close to me is football, and coaching and coming out here, having a good time with these guys it mixes well with me. With BELL, what they're trying to do is great."

Added Mayo: "I think everyone has a heart for the kids, and the community in general. The fans are the community. Any way we can give back, that's what we try to do."

Just as they do on a typical gameday, the players led their respective teams through the huge inflated helmet out onto the field. They all enjoyed being coaches.

"I'm loving it," said Woods. "I get to use the Bill Belichick on them."

Dr. Tiffany Cooper Gueye, the CEO of BELL, was grateful for the Patriots participation.

"When you combine Gillette Stadium and the Patriot players, that's a unique opportunity that really corporate sponsors can't turn down," said Dr. Gueye. "It's a way to engage their employees. As opposed to just showing up for dinner (at a gala), they're trying to win bragging rights for their company. Any other venue wouldn't have drawn the level of sponsorship or the level of participation you see here. Gillette is just magical. People want to be here."