Football players visit local elementary school to discuss health, academics, and sportsmanship.

By Marcia Sidney-Reed, Principal of 186th Street Elementary School

Last Friday, the boys and girls in the Wise Owl Nation at 186th Street School cheered for academics and fitness with athletes from the UCLA and USC football teams.

The day marked the 10th anniversary of the school’s Super Bowl School Spirit Day. Students, parents, staff, and teachers wore their favorite jerseys in the spirit of celebrating literacy and fitness for life.

Ric Coy, UCLA Associate Director of Academics and Student Services, and Linda Lassiter, UCLA Academic Counselor, brought five Division I student-athletes to interact with the elementary children, and Matt Ackels, USC Director of Community Outreach brought seven Trojans to join in the fun.

The day began with the Bruins and Trojans meeting each other and taking a group picture to establish unity for the day in the name of education.

The athletes then visited various classrooms to surprise the children with their presence and size. The students’ eyes lit up with excitement and sounds of joy echoed throughout the rooms as the student-athletes greeted each child with an encouraging high-five.

At the close of the school day, The Owls welcomed their guests with the school cheer and fight song. Next, Mr. Coy addressed the children and told them that none of the student-athletes would be standing before them if they had not done their work in the classroom.
Then each player introduced themselves and shared their position, their year in school, the high school they attended, and their academic major.

After the introductions, Matt Ackels shared the “4 Quarters” of the SCORE Initiative, USC Athletics’ cornerstone outreach endeavor: Physical Health, Academic Discipline, Teamwork, and Community Responsibility.

The players formed an academic huddle, and Anthony Neyer, a redshirt junior quarterback from USC, called the academic play encouraging the students to strive for excellence, respect their teachers, do their homework, and work hard to achieve their goals and dreams.

To cap off the events, the teachers and afterschool staff passed out activity cards for the children to get a free book, participate in the fun-filled activities, and of course, to get autographs.

For one day, the barriers that divide these teams and the city dissolved in honor of local children. “It’s a rivalry on the field, but off the field they are great guys and we always have a good time,” said Neyer, laughing at the thought of any bad blood.

“We wanted to come together to create the best for the children and the school,” said Bruin Running Back Ryan Davis.

Ultimately, the day proved as special for the athletes as it did for the kids. “I think we get more out of these types of events than the children.” said Neyer. “To see the community around us and spend time with these kids is always special.”

USC Players in attendance: Kenny Bigelow – Freshman DT, Jordan Austin – Freshman OL, J.R. Tavai – Junior LB, Christian Guzman – RS Freshman WR, Anthony Neyer – RS Junior QB, Devian Shelton – RS Freshman DB, and Ryan Dillard – Sophomore DB

UCLA Players in attendance: Ryan Davis – RS Freshman RB, Roosevelt Davis – RS Sophomore RB, Jayon Brown – Freshman ILB, Alex Staff – Freshman DB, Dylan Luther – Freshman DB

LSU student-athletes honored by TAF for athletic, academic and community service performance

LSU honored 153 athletes Saturday for their performances on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

LSU gymnast Lainie Fleming and baseball player Sean McMullen were named as the female and male Scholar-Athletes of the Year by the Tiger Athletic Foundation at the Academic Excellence Gala in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Tuesday.

Fleming, a four-time member of the Scholastic All-America team, and McMullen were among the 153 LSU athletes honored for achievement on the field, in the classroom and in the community during the 2012-13 school year. Student athletes qualify by making the SEC Academic Honor Roll, LSU Director’s Cup Award for Academic Excellence, or being inducted into the National College Athlete Honor Society (Chi Alpha Sigma).

“We, in the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes are very proud of our young men and women,” Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Executive Director of the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes Kenneth Miles said. “The Academic Gala represents scholarship in action. It is our signature event to highlight the academic and community engagement of our student-athletes.

“We aspire to be the premier provider of transformative student-athlete support services thus we must celebrate and affirm the collective efforts of the fruits of our labor.”

There were 27 student-athletes named to Chi Alpha Omega, while 152 made the SEC honor roll and 153 student-athletes received Director’s Cup Awards.

LSU student-athletes combined to contribute more than 4,475 hours of community service, led by the softball team with 507, which earned that program the community service cup. The softball team’s Strikeout Ovarian Cancer event and Geaux Teal Ovarian Cancer Walk raised more than $17,000.

Rheagan Courville, the 2013 NCAA champion in the vault and the all-around runner-up, was TAF Female Athlete of the Year, and track and field’s Damar Forbes was the TAF Male Athlete of the Year. Forbes swept the SEC Outdoor and NCAA Outdoor titles in the long jump in 2013, while also claiming All-America honors as part of LSU’s 4x-100 meter relay team.

Sheila Boykin of women’s basketball claimed the “Eye of the Tiger” Award for the overcoming great adversity with perseverance, dedication and determination. The gymnastics and softball teams shared the Tiger Cup Award, for combined on-field, academic and community participation success.

Laura Carleton was honored with the Bengal Belles Academic Excellence Award. Six other Tigers – Alexandra Boulet (3.989 gpa in mathematics), Philip Dempsey (4.0 gpa in biological science), Lainie Fleming (3.948 gpa in microbiology), Audrey Lawson (3.91 gpa in kinesiology), Mikayda Mills (3.9 gpa in political science), Dylan Supak (4.0 in kinesiology) – received the Wally Pontiff Award for third-year athletes with a 3.9 cumulative grade point average or better.

The men’s tennis team (3.0569 grade point average), and women’s tennis team (3.2816 GPA)were recognized for having the highest grade point average of all LSU athletic squads.

Other honors handed out at the gala included: men’s basketball coach and former Tiger standout Johnny Jones (alumnus of the year), Jodi Calloway of the women’s soccer team (female volunteer of the year), and football’s Lamin Barrow (male volunteer of the year). Calloway accumulated 130 hours of community service, while Barrow contributed 199 hours of his time in the community in 2012-13.

Source: http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2014/02/lsu_student-atghletes_honored.html

Furnishing the Family :USC Athletics donates furniture to local schools after move to Heritage Hall.

When the USC Athletic Department staff returned to their home in Heritage Hall, they left behind an abundance of furniture at the University Village. There were no better recipients for these gently used pieces than local elementary schools, including Vermont Elementary, Science Center School, John Mack Elementary, Norwood Elementary, and 32nd Street School.

Last week, the University Village doors were opened to appreciative representatives from the five neighboring schools who claimed items that would greatly benefit their campuses.

“We were able to select some much needed furniture for our staff lounge, parent center, and offices,” said Patricia Ferguson, principal of Vermont Elementary School.

The school representatives perused the unoccupied office spaces and expressed their deep gratitude for USC Athletics. “Our school’s funds that would have been spent to purchase this furniture can be reallocated to fund classroom materials for the students,” said Ezequiel Gonzalez, principal of 32nd Street School. “USC’s generosity is greatly appreciated and allows us to continue providing our staff and students with a quality environment.”

In total, more than 150 items were donated and transported to the various campuses by USC’s movers. Among the items donated were desks, file cabinets, drawers, tables, bookshelves, storage shelving, corkboards, whiteboards, couches, chairs and even some decorative plants.

The donations, facilitated by Hatcher Parnell and Todd Davis of USC Athletics Game Management, represent the latest in a strong partnership between the Trojans and the Family of Schools. Through the SCORE Initiative, the Girls PLAY program, and several other events, Athletics will continue to support local education.

Source: http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/comm-outreach/spec-rel/020514aab.html

In December, the Clemson diving team spent one week of the holiday break attending its annual winter training trip in Greensboro, NC. In addition to the hours they spent training, the members of the team also found time to volunteer in the local community.

On Dec. 17, the Tigers reached out to five young aspiring divers by hosting a clinic at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in hopes of sharing their knowledge and passion for the sport. During the clinic, the student-athletes worked with the young divers on basic diving skills, and gave them some insight as to what it is like being a collegiate student-athlete and how diving has impacted their lives.

Senior diver Emily Howard had the following to say about the experience:

“Our team had a great night working with the kids. You could tell they were really inspired by our team. It was amazing to see everyone get involved and make connections with the kids. This sport has given so much to all of us, and we had a great time sharing our passion with the young divers.”

Source: http://www.clemsontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=670620&SPID=110797&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=28500&ATCLID=209382829

UNC Student-Athletes have partnered with the Single Fathers Due to Cancer program to help babysit for their members.

The Single Fathers Due to Cancer program is a part of the Comprehensive Cancer Support Program at the North Carolina Cancer Hospital and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

This program is dedicated to helping the thousands of fathers who each year lose their spouses to cancer and must adjust to being sole parents.

To learn more visit : https://www.facebook.com/iServeiLead