DGK in Action: December 2014

 CLICK ON THE BANNER ABOVE TO REGISTER NOW!

The 7th Annual Winter Camp in Sparks, NV is just around the corner, and only a few spots remain in the YOUTH GK Clinic for goalkeepers under 14, so don’t delay registering if you are considering attending. Camp is limited in size to 12 students to guarantee plenty of training for each goalkeeper.  It is a day camp structure open to BOTH male and female gks.  The YOUNG GK Clinic will train twice over the weekend for 2 hours (once each day), while the ELITE GK Camp will include 2 lectures and four 2 hour+ training sessions, for a weekend of fun and intense training at the Golden Eagle Sports Complex in Sparks, NV.  If you are interested in registering please click on the banner above and/or call Tracy at 919-942-2903 if you have any questions.

2014 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), the U.S. State Department (cultural exchange and female empowerment programs), Sports United (a cultural exchange program organized through the U.S. State Department.

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 2014!  This is GREAT STUFF!  I am proud of all of you — you guys inspire me to do more!!!

If you were a 2014 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!  🙂

STAFF

JULIE ECKEL – Knoxville, TN

Julie keeps busy throughout the year and still manages time between classes at the University of Tennessee and training to volunteer for several different causes.  This past year she volunteered at the Buddy Walk benefitting Down’s syndrome, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Volaween (UT athletes hold Halloween party for all UT staff and families), and a holiday dinner and clothing drive at Thanksgiving

TRACY NOONAN – Chapel Hill, NC

This year I focused my volunteering efforts on two organizations.  I continued my support of Carolina for Kibera as a donor as well as assisting in their local fundraising clinic by brainstorming clinic structure and promotion in a meeting with a local director.   In addition I have continued to be an avid supporter of Coaches Across Continents promoting their work and recommending volunteers since it wasn’t possible for me to volunteer first hand this year.

WEEK 1

TAYLOR FRANCIS – Cary, NC

This year Taylor participated in a local Toys for Tots toy drive and volunteered at two local soccer camps. This semester she plans to participate in a Dance-a-thon raising money for a children’s hospital with her Pitt teammates.   Good luck to the competition, if any of you have watched our Dynasty Camp Highlight videos you have seen Taylor’s hidden talent…she is a Dancing Queen!

STEPHANIE HEBER – Vero Beach, FL

Watch those fingers!!!

Western Michigan freshman Stephanie Heber is a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and this year they decided to take a trip down to Vero Beach, Florida and work with Habitat for Humanity. The trip was 6 days long and according to Steph they packed a ton of work into them. They painted 2 houses, helped with construction on a house that is being built, worked with kids in the community and worked in the resale store where they sell belongings in order to pay for many of the houses they build.  Steph’s words describe her experience best:

“It was such an eye opening experience to see how grateful these people were to have extra hands to help them and to see the homeowners’ faces when they saw their houses. One of my favorite parts was working with the kids in the community. These kids attend an after school program that allows them to play and do homework while their parents are at work. We really had no idea what to expect going into it and were just told we were going to be playing with kids. While we did play with the kids, I think every one of us agreed that these kids touched our lives more than we impacted theirs. The love they had for all of us was indescribable. Each kid instantaneously latched onto one of us and we had a buddy for the rest of the day. We also went back the next day and saw their Christmas celebration. Each kid received a present that they had asked for and local members of the community bought and wrapped them. Altogether this experience has changed my life. It has given me the motivation and desire to continue to do more around my local community as well as doing trips such as this one. The group I went down with are friends I will have forever and are great support members as we go through college together.” 

WEEK 2

CAILEY CROSON – Fulshear, TX

The entire Croson family made 200 lunch bags to feed homeless people in the community on Christmas morning!!!!  This is an annual tradition for the Croson’s that is organized through their church.  What a GREAT team effort to impact the people in your immediate area!

CARLY STEVENS – Jacksonville, FL

Carly participated in Hike for Hope.  As part of a leadership group in school she attended weekly meetings for about 30 minutes to strategize and organize the event over the past two years of school (her sophomore and junior years).  The group discussed and chose Wolfson Children’s Hospital for their fundraising project.  Their inspiration was Matthew Taylor who had endured a strenuous childhood with cerebral palsy and was told he would never walk again.  At age 13 he had a pump inserted into his body to administer medicine directly into his spine.  By age 16 he was running marathons!  Matthew was given a second chance to experience life at its fullest thanks to the care he received at Wolfson and he wanted to “pay it forward” and allow other children the opportunity to feel “normal” for a day.  Thus Carly’s group partnered with Matthew to help make his dream a reality.  For two years they planned intensely to create a celebrity flag football game in honor of Matthew Taylor and on April 5, 2014 patients from Wolfson Children’s Hospital were joined by local celebrities, including Jacksonville Jaguars football players, to participate in a friendly flag football game.  They organized the event, arranged half time performances, attracted sponsors, managed fundraisers, and helped with fun stations during the event including temporary tattoos, cotton candy, and basketball shots for other kids.  The four hour event was a HUGE success and more information can be found at Matthew Taylor’s Hike for Hope Facebook page.

WEEK 3

LAUREN KETCHUM – Tulsa, OK

Lauren’s first outreach project was a week-long mission trip to More, Kentucky.  Not including travel she had 5 days of service work for Adventure Serve Ministries. The first day she assisted with cleaning a very run-down house; repainting it, cleaning out all the bedrooms, changing carpets, as well as work in the yard. On the second day she went to the local food bank and the group packed about 500 boxes of food. On the third day, they painted a pavilion that belonged to our hosts, Adventure Serve Ministries. The second outreach project Lauren completed was with her high school soccer team, the Booker T Washington Lady Hornets. Every player contributed $5 and we teamed up with the New Hope Foundation to be Secret Angels buying Christmas presents for 2 children whose parents are in prison.  Her team also made handmade Christmas cards for nursing home residents who don’t have family to visit. Total hours between both projects was roughly 30 hours. In addition Lauren also contributed a few more individual service hours at her local homeless ministry, John3:16, as well as a local domestic violence agency.

McKENNA MARINO – Tuscaloosa, AL

McKenna participated in an after school program called Soccer Strong.  She spent 7+ hours helping inner city children with their homework as well as developing their soccer skills.  She spent the first hour assisting them with their homework and then the second part focused on a specific soccer skill such as dribbling, first touch, or passing.  They always finished with a game with all the children until their parents arrived.

In addition McKenna has a charity named The 2nd Half Foundation that collects new and quality used sporting equipment and distributes them to athletes in need.  For the last two years she has collected balls that she has sent on a mission trip to Trapichito, Nicaragua with a University of Alabama Student group called Alabama Greek Missions.  Between this trip and local needs she has distributed close to 100 balls!

MARA MURPHY – Huntersville, NC

Mara volunteered this year with the Charlotte Rescue Mission and at Temple Kol Tikvah.   She contributed four hours of her Easter Sunday at the shelter to feed homeless people and provide comfort during the holiday by spending time and talking with them. She said,

“It was cool to see how much these people really appreciated what we were doing for them and how grateful they were that we were helping them out.” 

In addition every Sunday Mara spent 2 hours volunteering at her temple helping the younger children read Hebrew and learn about Jewish traditions in preparation for their Bar/Bat Mitzvah.  She would sit one on one with a different student each week assisting them with prayers and Hebrew letters so they could successful attain the various stages needed.

CLARE WITT – Raleigh, NC

Clare contributed 19 hours of volunteer work this year.  Eight of her hours were spent as a volunteer assistant coach for CASL’ s Spring Goalkeeper Academy for children ages 9 to 12. In addition she packed in 11 additional hours helping a group called Purr Partners. They rescue cats and kittens from high-kill shelters and get them adopted at a Petsmart near her house. Once a week this summer, she cleaned cages and played with the cats.

WEEK 4

None reported.

WEEK 5

CHARLOTTE McCORMACK – Morrow, GA & Wexford, IRELAND

Charlotte volunteered with some of her Clayton State University women’s soccer teammates at Golden Crest Assisted Living as part of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) at Clayton.  She contributed 2 hours of service over a 6 week period providing company for the residents and assisting the staff with basic care giving.  She worked in the Alzheimer’s & dementia ward and their engagement involved chatting to the residents, sharing stories and helping them to complete puzzles.  They also cleaned and massaged the resident’s hands with lotion and helped them to be comfortable.

In addition to this organized volunteer work Charlotte also contributes time when she is back home in Ireland.  She likes to go back to her old club and coach at the underage sessions.  In particular she coaches a young goalkeeper a couple of times for an hour or so each time she returns home.  Charlottes says,

“I really just do it for fun and to give back to my club, but it is unpaid contribution to my community.”

I AGREE!  Find your passion and share it with the next generation!

WEEK 6

WAY TO GO WEEK 6!!!  You guys killed it on the field AND off!  You guys set the standard with 7 of 12 students reporting their volunteer work to me.  GREAT JOB!  Keep it up!

KAYLER DeBREW – Greensboro, NC

This year Kayler volunteered 10 hours with TopSoccer at Greensboro United.  TopSoccer is an organization that allows children from ages three and up that have a mental or physical disability to learn how to play soccer and be a part of an organized sport.  The players include children with autism, Down Syndrome, intellectual and motor  challenges, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities.

In both the spring and falls seasons Kayler was a “Soccer Buddy” paired up with one of the TopSoccer players.  During weekly sessions she helped guide her player in drills or games set up for their age/skill.  At the end of the session players and their buddies all played in a game together.

From this experience Kayler has gained invaluable perspective.  According to Kayler,

“TopSoccer is a great organization because it gives children with disabilities the opportunity to enjoy soccer and be a part of a team in an environment that is suited to fit their needs.  Also, for myself, TopSoccer is a great way to realize that the struggle of a bad game or a frustrating day at practice is nothing compared to what some children and their families go through EVERY day.”

MARZIA JOSEPHSON – Cary, NC

Marzia attends year round school and during one of her track outs she volunteered at her old elementary school, Turner Creek Elementary, for a week (~40 hours).  She helped with the kindergarteners, special needs kids, and even taught an art class one day!  Marzia said she started by just going around the school asking teachers if they needed help and then doing anything that they asked me to like cutting out activities, teaching art, reading to the younger children, as well as grading papers. She said her favorite activity was playing “Go Fish” with the special needs kids. Marzia said,

“I really had a great time so now I want to make sure that every track out I go for at least a few days to help out. Lucky for me my father is a substitute so I can easily go in when he subs for a teacher.” 

ELIZABETH KELLY – Raleigh, NC

Elizabeth spent the week of June 22^nd – 27^th working in her local community as part of Youth Works.  Past mission trips have brought her to Denver, CO and Nashville, TN, but this year for their mission trip the group decided to stay local and help out around Raleigh, NC. Each day they tackled different tasks and found new ways to reach out and help the community. They volunteered at nursing homes, cooked meals for the hungry, and picked vegetables at a local farm. Elizabeth shared that,

“It was a lot of fun to help out and make a difference especially in my own community. This year I am raising $1500 to fund my mission trip to Costa Rica! I can’t wait to be able to have such an amazing experience.”

KAYLA KERN – Chapel Hill, NC

Kayla volunteered at Petsaver NC for about 35 hours over the fall working with rescue dogs. She helped take care of their basic needs such as feeding them and walking them as well as assisting at adoption events.

SYDNEY MALHAM – Nashville, TN

Sydney volunteered this year at the Belmont Pet Resort & Daycare and also for the Franklin Road Academy Summer Soccer Camp.  At the pet resort she contributed 24 hours of service from March 10^th – 13^th caring for the dogs and cats.  This included monitoring day care, feeding, cleaning play area/rooms and meeting clients to take/retrieve dogs and cats.

In addition she logged 17 volunteer hours assisting Franklin Road Academy’s goalkeeper coach in teaching basic goalkeeping to 5^th – 8^th grade boys and girls in the summer from June 16 – 20, 2014.

ANNA VENCKUS – Bartlett, TN

Anna kept herself busy this year participating in various projects within her community.  She has great variety in her projects from animal care, promoting exercise in children, tutoring, special needs awareness, and health issues!  Over the summer Anna continued volunteering at the animal shelter, walking dogs and playing with cats (an organization she has been volunteering with consistently for the past 3 years).  Also as part of her Spanish class, Anna works with a special needs class and is paired with a student to teach her Spanish.  She also participated in a walk, Step Up for Down Syndrome, organized by her high school soccer team to raise money for one of the girls in the special needs class who has Down Syndrome.  In addition Anna and her high school team sold apparel to raise money for breast cancer awareness.  This is an annual team project that raised roughly $1200 this year.   Lastly, Anna also volunteered at a local children’s triathlon, Bartlett Kids Triathlon.  She participated in the triathlon herself from ages 7 – 15 and wanted to give back and still be a part of it.

HEITHO SHIPP – Birmingham, AL

Heitho might be our most active goalkeeper in the community.  She has a huge heart for all in need,  people and animals.  One of my favorite community service projects that she was involved with this year was with her church youth group to re-do a room for a shelter for women and children called the Lovelady Center. (Check out the before and after pictures!) While she was there she learned that the 150 kids that live there have not had very good holidays in the past. So, she went back to her Key Club at school and asked if they could do a toy drive for Lovelady for the holidays. Her goal was 150 toys, one per child. They got 285 toys!!!!   It will have a huge impact on all of those kids this holiday!! Here is the note she got from Lovelady Center:

We just wanted to take a moment to thank you and everyone involved in your toy drive. We pray 100-fold blessing in return to you and hope you know what a difference you have made to children who need the hope and love of Christ this Christmas. From the bottom of our hearts, everyone at the Lovelady Center thanks you!!!

In addition Heitho used her own money that she had been saving from birthday and Christmas gifts for several years in order to help buy an industrial dryer for the Greater Birmingham Humane Society. I don’t know many teenagers out there that would be willing to set aside their own money for a charitable cause!  Impressive!

Lastly, Heitho also served lunch at a homeless shelter and was chair of an “Adopt a Stream” event.