CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Teams across college football took part in their ninth practices of the spring on Saturday.

Illinois football’s practice had a unique twist.

The players’ moms took to the practice field alongside their sons to get a taste of their daily schedules.

Head coach Bret Bielema shared the importance of this practice and what the influential women in his life have meant to him.

“My mom, my grandma and my sisters all have been a huge influence in my life.” Bielema said. That’s really the genesis of what today is. 120+ Division One programs had practice number nine, but if anybody got more out of practice nine than us today, I’d be shocked. What we did today, the way we grew emotionally and physically and mentally, is a big, big deal.

Gabe Jacas’s mother, Paula Henry, said Bielema’s commitment to making Illini football feel like a family is genuine.

“He knows that if you want to have a successful football team, family has to be the center of this football team,” Henry said. “That is why I never change anything about my decision. This is what this football program is, family. It is not just a word, it is what he implements in his program.”