Soccer provides benefits for the kids who play the game and the fans who watch the game. Those who play it get a good workout and learn the life lessons that sports provide, while the people in the stands get some entertainment outdoors.
In Bay County, Michigan, they're using soccer to extend benefits well beyond players and fans.
Four girls soccer games contested over the next two months in Bay County will provide significant help for those who suffer from cancer and heart conditions. And the hungry will benefit too, along with those who have served in America's armed forces.
It's called the Stadium Games 2011, and tonight's contest between
Central (Bay City, Mich.) and
Bay City Western (Auburn, Mich.) will kick off a four-game series that exhibits the best in student activism and community togetherness, shared among local schools. The American Heart Association will be the benefactor of the proceeds from the gate and other fundraising efforts tonight.
Soccer players from schools in Bay County, Michigan, do battle on the field but they also unite for the Stadium Games in an effort to help people locally and globally.
Photo courtesy of Michael Rant
It will be a tall order this year to eclipse the $13,000 raised for charitable causes last year. But committee chairman Michael Rant is quite confident that players, students and the community at large will find a way to do even better.
"When the girls at these schools start talking about (Stadium Games 2011) they become excited. In the fall there were girls already making the posters, just waiting to put in the dates because they were so excited," he said.
The second game will be April 29, as Bay City Western will go to
Glenn (Bay City, Mich.) to help raise awareness for breast cancer and the American Cancer Society. On May 16, Glenn will go to Central for "Fill the Shelves Night" and try to bring in food for local food pantries. And on May 21, the
Pinconning (Mich.) varsity team will go to
Garber (Essexville, Mich.) to help raise funds for the Wounded Warriors Project and help veterans with a plethora of things. Pinconning doesn't have a JV team, so
Standish-Sterling (Standish, Mich.) will play Garber in the JV contest.
It’s not just girls soccer players playing a role — it’s the students from schools in the county, which is about a two-hour drive north of Detroit. Glenn students will compete with Central students to see who can bring in more food donations.
Other students also get involved inthe Stadium Games festivities thatraise funds for worthy causes. Last year,boys soccer players from two schoolsunited to run the game ball 13 milesto a game.
Photo courtesy of Michael Rant
Last year, boys soccer players got involved and ran the game ball 13 miles from one school to the other. They handed the ball off to a girls player's mother who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and she brought it to midfield to hand to the officials at the start of the game.
"There wasn't a dry eye in the stadium," Rant said.
It all started five years ago when Glenn and Western wanted to give girls soccer more visibility and scheduled an annual night game under the lights in the football stadium. What started as a way to showcase soccer turned into a charitable endeavor when two years ago, a player from Western suggested raising money for breast cancer research. She teamed up with a player from Glenn and together, they set the stage for an event that brought in $3,000.
Last year, John Glenn coach Fran MacMillan suggested getting all the Bay County schools involved, and now the event will look to help even more.
"We all want to do just a little better than last year and do something that keeps everyone excited about it. I'm extremely proud of the committee and extremely proud of the coaches and I'm beyond proud of these girls and how much it means to them," Rant said. "As adults we can say ‘You're going to play these games' and they might hear ‘blah, blah, blah' and not really care. But they put in the work. It all comes from the girls."
And what comes from that effort and thought is a community that not only values its soccer — but using soccer as a vehicle to help those who need it.
