Kansas City Chiefs Official Team Website | Chiefs.com

Helmets? Check. Pads? Got ‘em. Stuffed beaver? Wait, what? The Kansas City Chiefs Director of Equipment Allen Wright said they try to make training camp feel like home for the players. “We used to take a beaver in a bag that was for one of the guys,” Wright explained. “A stuffed beaver.” While Wright admitted that was one of the weirdest items they’ve packed for camp, personalization is important to equipment crew. “If a player has pictures of his family or like Eric Berry has something in his locker that a fan sent that he took the time to hang up as an inspiration,” Wright explained, “we always put those in their lockers at camp and try to make it as close to home-feeling as we can.”For Wright, who joined the franchise in 1983, training camp has changed over the years. When he first started, training camp was still held at William Jewel until 1991, when it moved to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. “When I started there were two of us and we took care of the helmets, shoulder pads, shoes and that sort of thing,” Wright said. “We gave the coaches a small travel bag with some tennis shoes and shorts.” And it all fit in one 18-wheeler truck. Camp was then moved to Missouri Western State in 2010 and has been home of #ChiefsCamp ever since. “We’re dressing 180 people in Chiefs’ clothes this year—not including players,” Wright said. “And we have about 11 trucks, that are 18-wheelers, headed to camp.” Wright said saying it’s changed 180 degrees wouldn’t give it enough justice. “We provide everything that a player or coach needs from the moment they walk into the door,” Wright said. “But it’s not just what I do, the whole organization has grown to that.”When asked about training camp with the different coaches Wright has worked with over the years, he said Coach Reid looks at it different than all the previous coaches. “[Coach Reid] said to me early on as his tenure, ‘If a guy is willing to sleep here, the least we can do is provide him with his toiletries, so he can get up and brush his teeth,’” Wright said. “I’d never really had anyone say that to me before, and it made sense.” While things have changed in Wright’s 35 years working with the Chiefs, one thing remains constant—the goal to make sure that not having something is not an option. “I never want to let anyone down. I always want to have enough, so that you never have to say I don’t have that,” Wright said. “I felt that way when we were dressing 75 people and I feel that way at dressing 180 people.” “If a coach or a player needs something it’s our job to make sure that we have it to help them do their job the best possible way.”

Kansas City Chiefs Official Team Website | Chiefs.com

Chiefs Director of Equipment Allen Wright Once Packed Stuffed Animal for Camp

A look at training camp and equipment over the years