April 2, 2005
ORLANDO - The UCF Alumni Association and the UCF Athletics Association hosted four hundred youngsters for the 11th Annual UCF Youth Sports Festival on Saturday morning at the UCF Athletics Complex. Ranging from kindergarten through fifth grade, the children participated in a sports clinic of their choice - including baseball, basketball, football, soccer or cheerleading.
Tom Sims brought his six-year-old son Thomas, who has been playing soccer for four seasons, to the event. "I figured that he might learn more techniques from the players and coaches here," said Sims. "I was very impressed because one of the players even gave him some one-on-one instruction. Thomas really listened and did what he was taught to do. It was a wonderful experience for him."
The children were able to work on different skills as they moved around the field and even had the chance to shoot on a few of the players. Jessica Hallgren was teaching the finer points of dribbling the ball.
"I think it's necessary to show the kids what kind of future they can have if they are determined and work hard," said the freshman defender. "It's great to know that we can really make an impact on their lives."
Meanwhile, on the basketball court, senior Gary Johnson and sophomore Michael O'Donnell were teaching a group of kids how to play defense.
"The kids are having a lot of fun," said Johnson. "We're basically just teaching them some basic skills and then let them play a short game of five-on-five. One of the most important things is that they learn to play as a team."
New this year, some of the youth were bussed in from Orlando's Reeves Terrace Community Center, while Sanford's Hamilton Elementary School participated for the second time with 40 students attending.
"It's exciting this year because we were able to bring in children from the inner city areas," said UCF head cheerleading coach Linda Gooch. "I think it's a good experience for our athletes and the children to be able to interact with one another. Even if only one child goes home looking forward to a brighter future, we've made an impact."
The event was sponsored by Dairy Farmers, Inc., Chrysler-Jeep and the Orlando Sentinel.