UIC Flames
Official Store
|
Men's Soccer Teams With Urban Initiatives To Host Clinic For Local Youth
May 22, 2009
CHICAGO- Despite a dreary, rain-soaked day in Chicago last Friday, May 15, the UIC men's soccer team managed to brighten the afternoon of some local grammar school students through a special on-campus clinic inside the Physical Education Building. UIC head coach John Trask, assistant coach Minos Vlamakis, and student-athletes Moriba Diallo, Phillip Mitchell and Julian Serrato were visited by boys and girls from Walsh Elementary School, located mere minutes from the University at 2015 S. Peoria, through the Urban Initiatives program. The Flames' soccer crew conducted a clinic centered around skill-building sessions ranging from dribbling, shooting, passing and other fundamentals of The Beautiful Game. Those fun sessions were followed by friendly matches, and after the games the students received prizes for their efforts and words of wisdom regarding athletics and academics from Trask and assistant athletic director Shawn Sullivan, who provided some prime perspective as a former student-athlete and current administrator in the UIC athletic department. "It was great to meet and work with an outstanding group of young students from Walsh Elementary School, the teachers and administrators at Walsh, as well as Jim Dower and Daniel Isherwood of the Urban Initiatives program," said Trask. "I would like to thank John Neal and all of the teachers who accompanied the kids to UIC. "While soccer was the theme, the highlights of the day included seeing the fun interaction between the UIC players and the kids and the great talk on education given by Shawn," continued Trask. "We really look forward to continuing our relationship with Urban Initiatives and have offered our full support of their program in the future." Urban Initiatives states its mission as working with schools, teachers, and parents to boost the academic performance, physical fitness, and character development of children from Chicago's underserved communities by actively engaging them in safe and structured extracurricular activities through soccer programs, field trips, and cultural outings (Courtesy of urbaninitiatives.org). All of Urban Initiatives' programming is free of charge to its participants, relying entirely on donations to fund its cause. To make a donation to Urban Initiatives, click here.
|
