DGK in Action: Winter 2019/2020

2019/2020 Dynasty Winter Camps

This winter Dynasty only had the opportunity to host one winter camp (due to my recovering from knee surgery and commitments to attend the 2020 United Soccer Coaches Convention in Baltimore as a presenter). Fortunately for us we have had a relatively mild winter here in North Carolina, so for the first time in several winters we had stable good weather for our camp December 21/22, 2019. No snow, no sleet, no rain, no wind…piece of cake! We had a great blend of male and female keepers ages 11-18 that were eager to get some extra training in right before Christmas.

I always enjoy reconnecting with my students on the field as they all give me so much joy, but also I love adding fun new students into the mix so it was great to see the blend of ages and abilities work together so well. There were opportunities for leadership and mentorship from my older repeat students, and opportunities for imprinting, inspiration, and growth for the young ones watching the older goalkeepers. A BIG THANK YOU to all the repeat students welcoming the new goalkeepers into the “family”, mentoring and encouraging them. I also SUPER appreciated all the time commitment from all the parents just a few days prior to the holiday transporting your kids, getting them to the field on time, making sure they were well fed, AND making sure they were ready to roll for the weekend! It was a great group of hard working goalkeepers and as always the group dynamic was outstanding! Fun, motivated, and competitive group! I am definitely planning on running a local winter camp again December 2020 (likely December 5/6 or 19/20, 2020) and hopefully getting back down to the northern Atlanta area (at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville), so any students out there that want to get added to those distribution lists please contact me at [email protected].  As is the case with all of our camps, enrollment is limited, so you will want to get notice when registration opens so you don’t miss out on 2020/21 winter camps!

2019 COMMUNITY OUTREACH CHALLENGE

In addition to the Camp Homework I assign students every year, I also challenge my camp students to become involved in their community to raise their awareness of the global community around them. It is far too easy to get swept up into our busy lives, the daily grind, and our own microscopic circle of influence. I am certainly a culprit of that. Hence the Dynasty Goalkeeping Community Outreach Challenge was developed to get ALL of us to broaden our circles of influence!

Initially the program began with students donating gear for children in need around the world and has grown from there. Thus far Dynasty has been involved with the following organizations Carolina For Kibera, Coaches Across Continents, They Often Cry Outreach (TOCO), Equipment Across Continents (a branch of Coaches Across Continents), and  Sports United a sport diplomacy program organized through the U.S. State Department to encourage cultural exchange and female empowerment.

In 2010 the Dynasty Goalkeeping Community Outreach Challenge took our generosity one step further. I challenged students to ACT BEYOND THEMSELVES and get involved with a project that meant something to them and to ‘donate’ some of their TIME to help others. The feedback I received from the students and parents was tremendous, so giving back to your community has become a core value of the Dynasty family of goalkeepers.

It is in acting that we have our most profound effect, because there simply is nothing more valuable than your time. So to set aside some of your precious time to help another human being (animal or the planet) speaks volumes. The recipient will certainly be tremendously grateful for any help you can give, but the effect it will have on your own life will be were the most value lies. The gratitude and love you receive back from the people you help is addicting and powerful. Try it and you will see what I mean.

Here is the list of the volunteer work that Dynasty staff and students (listed by the camp week they attended) reported in 2019! This is GREAT STUFF! I am proud of all of you — you guys inspire me to do more!!!

If you were a 2019 student/staff that did volunteer this year and your name isn’t on this list it is because you didn’t email me! I can’t report on something I don’t know! Please email me so I can update!

STAFF

TRACY NOONAN – Spring & Fall 2019 – Chapel Hill, NC

In 2019 in addition to continuing as a volunteer goalkeeper coach for both the boy’s (fall) and girl’s (spring) squads (varsity and JV) at Chapel Hill High School and one session for the Carrboro High School girls (10 hours total) I also added in a new outreach project to expand my horizons. Based on my interest in goats, a love of goat cheese and goat yogurt, plus a desire to learn more about goats, I started volunteering at a local goat farm, Celebrity Goat Farm in Siler City, NC. It is a 300 acre low impact sustainable agriculture farm with a herd of 100 Alpine and Saanen goats. The farm got some much needed help with their non-stop manual labor chores; mucking stalls, moving goats, trimming hooves, trenching around the barn, and general barn/yard clean-up while I got to spend some fun time with crazy cute spasmic jumping goats! WIN-WIN! I learned a lot about what is entailed in raising goats, milking them, the art of goat cheese making, and got to witness the birth of two baby goats! Getting to experience the entire process from birth to milk to cheese certainly gives you a whole new level of appreciation of all that is entailed in making just one simple food that is so readily accessible for us at the grocery store and even more so gratitude for how HARD our local farmers work. They have very little margin of error with much of their profit margin dependent on nature and they totally rely on our support! So please BUY LOCAL!

If you live locally you really need to try some delicious Celebrity Farm goat cheeses which are sold at local Farmer’s Markets (Carrboro, Durham, Pittsboro), Weaver Street Market (Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Raleigh) Chatham Marketplace (Pittsboro), and Whole Foods(Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, and Cary). And Dynasty students that love goat cheese you can buy some when you are in town this summer at camp as they sell it at the Whole Foods we frequent!!!

STUDENTS

WEEK 1

EMMA HILL – 2019 – Salisbury, MD

For those of you who are dedicated Dynasty blog readers you will recall that Emma has started her on goalkeeper coaching “academy” in her hometown area (which is a very small town with very little high level coaching) years ago. Emma has continued to build on this project of hers mainly over the summer when she is home from college. Her total service hours was approximately 32 hours (two hours twice a week for eight weeks) In Emma’s own words; “For the past few summers I have been fortunate enough to give my time to female goalkeepers ranging from ages 9-19 years old. I organize and run practices that focus on the art of goalkeeping. I have tried to create an environment where these young women are encouraged to fail. Yes, I understand that’s a little weird, like why would I want my students to fail? Well, my philosophy is that if we never fail, we never achieve. If we (as goalkeepers) are too afraid to try something new because we MIGHT fail, then we will never be able to reach our full potential. I am so grateful that my group of goalkeepers has placed their trust in me, and I can’t wait to see what their hard work amounts to in the future.”

I LOVE the environment Emma is creating for these young women to challenge themselves in and thrive!

GRACE LI – Spring 2019 – Baltimore, MD

This past year college freshman Grace Li of Miami, FL found a way to get involved in her new community while at Loyola University Maryland.

“Last semester I got the opportunity to volunteer for Soccer Without Borders in Baltimore. They look after refugee and immigrant youth from underserved communities. All the children are English language learners and most of the kids I met were from Nepal or small countries in East Africa that are closer to the Middle East. Soccer Without Borders provides an after school program that tutors the kids and coaches them in soccer. They provide all the balls and goals and rent out a field in Baltimore City. I went out a few times (for a total of about 15 hours) and helped coach the teams when they would play on Fridays.”

WEEK 2

KATYA BESCH – 2019 – La Canada, CA

Katya’s Community Outreach project was by far the most ambitious project of all our students. Under supervision from the Girl Scouts as part of her efforts to earn the Gold Award, the highest accomplishment for Girl Scouts, she fully embraced the Community Outreach project this year (and extending into 2020 with an outreach trip to Uganda hopefully!) committing 20+ hours already with a sum total of likely 80+ hours total with Ray United https://twitter.com/rayunitedfc?lang=enFC (RUFC) partnered with University of Southern California Global Health and Makarere University. Katya shared that the main goal of this project is to provide the necessary means for girls to continue their education and participate in athletics without being hindered by puberty. The main issue for girls in Uganda is that they lose access to school and athletics when they reach biological maturity due to a lack of sanitary supplies. Initially they miss one week a month of school, but as those missed weeks accumulate they eventually fall so far behind that they have to drop out. This sets the stage for lifelong financial and health challenges. RUFC is a non-government organization that runs a summer camp for high schoolers in Uganda. Last year they led workshops at the camp teaching girls how to assemble reusable sanitary napkins, and giving them supplies so they could go home and teach girls in their villages the same skill. They found that this didn’t solve the problem, as girls had no way to transport soiled napkins home.

Katya worked to design reusable bags so that the girls can easily transport the soiled sanitary napkins. Then in mid-August she held a fundraiser dinner of Ugandan food, with music and games, to raise the money to purchase materials. And at the end of the summer, she hosted “assembly events” for her community to put together 300 reusable sanitary napkin and transport bag kits. The kits include cut fabric, other materials for assembling the kits and directions on how to put together the sanitary napkins. There was also soap and underwear. The sanitary napkins in the kits were unassembled so girls in Uganda could assemble their own napkins in hopes that they will be able to make new ones with natural resources on their own (Katya even procured information about materials commonly available in Uganda to make sure my design and materials would be sustainable!).

The culmination of the project will be going to Uganda in June of 2020 and teaching Ugandan girls how to assemble the kits. “I am excited to act as a role model to inspire other female athletes. At the camps in Uganda, put together by RUFC, there is a mix of Ugandan Makarere University students, USC students, and other volunteers who help make the soccer and health camp possible. This camp is a strong collaboration between students of Uganda and the United States to empower Ugandans by providing more job opportunities and aid in public health. I am really excited to see this project through.”

ZOE COMBEE – Summer 2019 – Polk City, FL

Zoe worked three weeks in a row at Camp Gilead located in Polk City, FL up from her one week of service last summer. “We woke up at 7 and went to bed around 12 most nights, and I loved every second of it.” Zoe was a CIT (Counselor In Training) cleaning around the campus, before, during, and after every meal, as well as working at a snack shop throughout the day. She also was involved in camper activities developing relationships with the campers, as well as staff. “Wherever we are needed, we go! Working to help keep up a camp that is changing lives has changed my life as well. It is such a fun and humbling experience to get close to and work for so many God fearing people!”

 

CAROLINE DOSS – Summer 2019 – Greensboro, NC

Caroline has continued her multi-year service work with the Greensboro TOPSoccer organization putting in around 24 hours of work on Sundays throughout the summer. The program is aimed to support kids growing up in low-income families. Caroline shared that many people don’t know that Greensboro area/Guilford County has been consistently ranked in the top 10 for food insecurity in the United States. At TOPSoccer every Sunday during the summer, hundreds of kids receive dinner and a chance to play soccer for the night. Caroline ran stations where the kids played fun games and learned new skills.

“This experience taught me to ALWAYS be grateful for what my life is like and what I can do. It’s very easy to feel ungrateful or like a victim when something doesn’t go your way. After this experience, I was reminded of the true joy and love soccer can bring into someone’s life. I have now made it a goal to truly become mindful and appreciate all the opportunities I am able to engage in every day. I loved working with these kids, and plan on doing it again next summer!”

BRENNA MURRAY – 2019 – Greensboro & Charlotte, NC

Brenna is one of our Dynasty ROCK STARS when it comes to community service.  Every year she inspires me to get more involved when I see how active she is in her community in so many diverse ways.  She is a true service leader!

Brenna finished her high school career out last spring as VP & Founder of Pride Players (community service club for athletes).  They spent most of the spring doing school related activities – stadium clean ups, raising money & support at the Raleigh St. Patrick’s Day parade, making appreciation gifts for our coaches, school counselors and administration. She also was VP of National Latin Honor Society whose main community service push was WRAL’s “Coats for the Children”.  She also completed numerous service hours in her second year as a member of National Honor Society.

“As senior class secretary I did way more than I expected last year! We ran a hurricane relief drive with the other class councils, and spent countless hours working on school improvement projects, homecoming, graduation and senior assembly. My largest projects probably included organizing our senior class slide show, and putting together our class gift – “Pride Rock” which was placed near our student lot. My four years of student council required me to step out of my comfort zone and take on a lot of projects that were much bigger than myself. I learned the importance of teamwork, made some of the closest friends I had in high school, and loved being a part of my school community.  Finally, one of the main things I did at Leesville was PEPI (Physical Eduction Pupil Instructors). I spent a large amount of time teaching kids games and about the importance of physical activity, as well as learning how to work with special needs students. Through PEPI I volunteered at a number of elementary school field days, First in Fitness, and both spring and summer special olympics! These experiences were so inspiring and working with kids is something that truly brings me so much joy!

Speaking of kids, I also organized a Kid’s Night game for my Leesville High School soccer team with free admission for kids, games and activities during pre-game and half time, as well as autographs after the game. It was a great way to get the whole Leesville community involved with our team!”

Despite settling into a new school and new team this fall at UNC-Charlotte Brenna was quick to dive right into her new community and get involved!  The majority of her community service was through SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) on campus. So far she has volunteered at the Second Harvest Food Bank, collected donations for our SAAC Cares Holiday Drive, volunteered at our Campus 5k, and volunteered with my teammates to run a clinic for National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

“Now that we are out of season I am looking to do even more – upcoming plans include Tim Tebow’s Night to Shine and serving food at Room in the Inn within the next couple weeks. Our team definitely prioritizes staying involved with the community – one of the pictures attached is from after one of our games, meeting with some people from Special Olympics North Carolina – Gaston County. I am hoping 2020 will be full of even more – I’m convinced that giving your time and talents to those less fortunate than you is one of the most fulfilling things you can do. I have always left community service and involvement events a better person than I was when I walked in, and it’s a great reminder of how far a little kindness goes in this world!”

PAIGE NURKIN – 2018-2019 – Charlotte, NC

Throughout the year, Paige served Project Backpack through both her church and school. She bought food and stuffed bags for school children who otherwise would have nothing to eat on the weekends. She did this for 30 minutes twice a month at school and three times outside of school for 2 hours for about 12 hours total. Paige shared that, “My work has made me more grateful for what I have, even in the simple things. Not only do I have food, but I have a variety of options and can choose not to eat a certain protein bar or snack mix. The kids who receive these bags don’t have options; they get the food they get and that’s all.”

WEEK 3

ELIZABETH NAVOLA – June 10, 2019 – Davidson, NC

Elizabeth did her community service at her local swimming pool for the River Run Swim Team. She spent three hours as the “head timer” keeping the times for each swimming event. She always had at least two timers in her hands and was there if another timer failed and needed a back-up. In addition she recorded all of the times after each event.

“I had so much fun and they were so happy that I came because other volunteers dropped out of their positions so they really needed my help!”

WEEK 4

EMMY CLARKSON – Fall 2018/Spring 2019 – Frederick, MD

Emmy volunteers regularly through the Key Club and Student Athlete Counsel (SAC) at her high school. She worked approximately 25 hours for Key Club projects. She enjoyed all the projects, but shared two that stood out to her.

“In the fall we designed an outdoor obstacle challenge that combined running and climbing events finishing with a military crawl in a mud pit. The event raised money for suicide awareness prevention among veterans and was sponsored by MC VET. Another event that I really liked doing was making baby blankets for a local NICU. All of the activities where fun and they had a real purpose in the community.”

As part of SAC she worked a whopping 48 hours as a mentor/coach for a U13 girls’ soccer team during both fall and spring seasons. Emmy shared,

“The girls could relate to me because I am not much older than them and because I am girl just like them! I tried to show them how to build their confidence and expand their soccer skills. The coaches where very supportive of my helping the team and included me in their bench side coaching staff during games. I was very proud of the growth the team made this year.”

TESS HOPKINS – Summer 2019 – Chapel Hill, NC

Tess chose to volunteer at a local Goodwill Store for her community outreach activity. She went a total of three times for about an hour and a half each visit. She brought in some of her own donations and her work mainly consisted of unpacking donations as well as organizing clothes in the store.

AVERY PARKER – Summer/Fall 2019 – Woodstock, GA

Avery volunteers consistently throughout the school year with special needs children through the Middle Creek Middle School Friends Club at her school. She averages 5 hours a week with them.

“I help them with their daily tasks at school and go on some CBI trips with them. That is when they go out in the community and learn basic life skills. I also go to Special Olympics with them and help them with their events. It really gives me a good feeling when I am with them. When they do something right or figure something out after I help them it really makes me happy when I see them and how happy they are!”

ALEXIS WOLGEMUTH – Spring 2019 – Newton, NC

Alexis spent two hours serving alongside her high school basketball team at Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministry in Newton, NC. They helped stock food that was donated to the ministry. This included sweets like cakes and desserts and pastries. They marked everything as “ECCM” and placed appropriate items in the refrigerator and the rest in specific boxes, sorting and categorizing cans while checking the expiration date.

“I would say it impacted me specifically as I was able to see just how “well off” I actually am. When we went to serve in the back of the building, we passed the people in the front that came to receive a meal or clothes. It made me grateful that I can have a healthy meal or go pick a new outfit without much of a second thought. Many people don’t have this opportunity…”

WEEK 5

RAEGAN BEEDING – August 2018 – May 2019 – Grain Valley, MO

This past year Raegan volunteered with her new team at Harvesters – The Community Food Network where they packaged food and drinks for 2 hours. They were able to help about 250 families in need with the food they packaged.

“I’ve done more than those hours at Harvesters and it is always a blessing knowing you are really helping the community.”

Raegan also served at Hillcrest Thrift Store where she helped sort clothes and shoes out of the donation bags.

In addition she also helped a few nights (3-4 hours per night) cook meals for families whose children are in the hospital for a long period of time at the Ronald McDonald House.

“I am so thankful that I am able to do so much in my community and make an impact. Thank you for pushing me to get out there and keep doing it!”

ALEXA GOLDBERG – August 2018 – May 2019 – Saint Petersburg, FL

As part of her high school service club, the Rojans, Alexa participated in a plethora of community outreach projects throughout her school year.

I LOVE the variety of projects she got involved with including senior citizens, young children, wildlife conservation, AND helping the environment! WELL DONE ALEXA!!!

She teamed up with two classmates on a Northshore Beach Clean-Up Project. It is an issue that is increasingly prevalent in the current world news so they wanted to do their part to reduce the amount of waste that goes into Tampa Bay. They went to Northshore beach to comb in groups for any signs of micro-plastic and other trash.

“At the end we combined our trash and it was sad to see how much accumulation a little beach could have. The experience addressed global issues because trash cleanups are small ways to make a big difference in one’s community, as well as to have an impact on a greater scale. The more trash cleanups there are, the healthier our shores will be. I worked collaboratively with other people to make sure all spots were hit. I had to stay focused for a long period of time to get it done, which is hard for me. I will definitely do this again.”

Alexa also chose to volunteer at Menorah Manor, a nursing home, once a month because, “I love to give back the community, collaborate with my service club, and make people happy. We joined the elderly at a monthly birthday party. By socializing with people with so much wisdom and so many experiences, I learned about the past of our city, school, and even the personal lives of those I interacted with. It was truly an experience that broadened my viewpoint of the world, as the people I talked to came from far and wide, yet all managed to end up in St. Petersburg. Through this experience I learned about how a nursing home works, and came out of my comfort zone by talking to new people learning about their world. I also had to work collaboratively with other people in my service group to make sure we interacted with all the residents to create a fun and lighthearted environment. Ethics were a large part of this experience, as I had to use empathy to make sure everyone was treated with respect.”

Alexa also served at the Race for a Reason event overseeing a go-kart race to help raise money for the All Children’s Hospital. She socialized with people at the event, and assisted with ticket sales, food, and made sure the races were all running smoothly.

“It was truly an experience that broadened my viewpoint of the city as the people I talked to came to give back to their community. I also got to race the cars myself and learned some tips and tricks from an expert who helped me improve my time. The different aspects it takes for racing are really interesting, and I learned from the people I helped. Through this experience I came out of my comfort zone by talking to new people, helping to manage an event, and I learned how to race go-karts.”

Alexa committed another 4 hours of volunteer work to help For The Children! in a Charity 4v4 Tournament to raise money for children in India who do not have the same resources that we do. She donated old cleats, shin guards, and gloves as well. The tournament lasted all day and multiple games were played. Alexa shared that, “there was a big turnout with lots of energy for a good cause.”

The next event Alexa volunteered at was a fall festival Pumpkin-Palooza being held at a church for five hours. She worked at the bouncy maze to help small children navigate it and maintain its safety.

“It was challenging to maintain the lines for such a long time but I worked hard and got it done. This helped me learn that work ethic inspires good outcomes.”

The last project Alexa created was a fundraiser for two environmental conservative organizations, Tampa Bay Watch and The Dolphin Project. She supported these groups in middle school projects and wanted to continue this support using an idea she created last year when she accidentally ordered 20 small gourds to paint instead of one large one. The gourds were painted to fit the theme of environmental conservation and sold as a little reminder for people to be aware of the impact that they make on the world, almost like a little talisman. The proceeds of gourd sales plus related t-shirt sales were given to both charities.

LIZZIE HEDRICK – Spring/Summer 2019 – Columbus, GA

Lizzie was able to blend her passion for soccer with her community outreach work and found several outlets for her service through soccer amassing 32+ hours of service work!

• Columbus High School Boys’ Soccer Team (17 hours)
  Ran the sidelines in order to capture video footage for personal and team highlight videos as well as clips for video analysis sessions.
• TOPSoccer (75 minutes)
  Along with her team, Lizzie volunteered with TOPSoccer playing soccer with special needs children. They ran soccer drill, but more importantly made sure they were having fun playing soccer together.
• Columbus State University Youth Soccer Camp (6 hours)
  Volunteered as a junior-coach running drills and assisting group head coach.
• Columbus State Goalkeeper and Striker Camp (8 hours)
  Volunteer coach working with the younger goalkeepers teaching them the basics as well as coaching them in games. “This was one of my favorite volunteering opportunities because I was able to experience being a coach and teaching some awesome kids who were there to learn. We had a lot of fun together!”

“As much as volunteering helps others, being able to teach kids and spend my time with them also helps me in finding my own passion and makes me think more about how to do what I love for the rest of my life. Volunteering mostly with kids also has shown me how important attention to small details means to them. They notice when you learn their names and they pay attention to the coaching and teaching that you give them so doing that in a positive and uplifting manner is so important to their success.”

TATUM SANDERS – Summer 2019 – Tulsa, OK

Tatum’s first service project was with her church First United Methodist Church of Tulsa, Oklahoma. They traveled to Arkansas and worked 6-8 hours for two days at a Christian summer camp. They painted the inside of a boat chapel, which is basically a boat flipped upside down and converted into a chapel.

Her second service project with the church was in Memphis, TN. They worked for 6+ hours over three days demolishing a house to be rebuilt as well as laying sod for a new backyard.

“Doing the service work with my church I took away that even the small things like painting can make a difference.”

Her third service project was volunteering (3 hours) for The Little Lighthouse at their annual carnival. The Little Lighthouse is a school for kids with disabilities.

“Volunteering with the Little Lighthouse showed me it doesn’t matter what kind of disability you have, you can still have fun and enjoy life. The Little Lighthouse experience has inspired me to consider being a Special Education teacher.”

GREAT WORK 2019 DYNASTY STUDENTS!

You continue to inspire me with all your community outreach projects!