ROBBINS, Ill. (WLS) — The youth team for the Robbins CalPark Eagles in the south suburbs was set to take the field in a few weeks for their first football game of the season, but now, they are unsure if they will be able to start after their equipment was stolen.

For decades, the Robbins CalPark Eagles have thrived as one of the largest youth football programs in the south suburbs, serving kids ages 6 to 13.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

They are getting ready for their new season in a few weeks, but there is a setback for the youngest players.

“You see these things on the news all the time, and you have a heart for those programs, but when it happens to you, it’s a whole different thing,” said Robbins CalPark Eagles President Glenn Hampton.

Hampton says someone broke into their storage container that sits in an empty lot off of a main road and stole equipment their 6-year-olds and 7-year-olds use, including dozens of shoulder pads, and helmets worth thousands of dollars.

“For what we have, the exact model is $250 to date per helmet. And so, we’re down almost 60 helmets,” Hampton said.

Coach Gilbert Shepard says a parent drove by Sunday and saw the door to the storage container was open. He is hopeful the surveillance cameras at a nearby school caught the crime.

In the meantime, in addition to teaching plays on the field, he is having to give his team a life lesson.

“We’re telling them we have their back. We have people reaching out to us,” Shepard said.

Some of the older players are trying to make sense of what happened.

“I just can’t believe our younger youth don’t have any more equipment, and they might not be able to play,” said CalPark Eagle football player Blake Ross.

“I was like, ‘Why would they do that?’ Now, our younger kids have nothing to wear for the game,” said Jaiden Dampier, another CalPark Eagle football player.

But the Robbins CalPark Eagles are hopeful all the players will be able to suit up come game time.

“We’re going to make sure these kids will be able to be on the field on the 23rd” Shepard said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to support the CalPark Eagles in their fundraising efforts to get new equipment.