Friday, March 31, 2006

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 31, 2006) - The ETSU women's soccer team recently did its part to reach out to the local community as they hosted a clinic at Girls Incorporated of Johnson City.

"This is one thing that I know that not only I look forward to, but everyone else on the team looks forward to. During the fall we get the chance to come and give back to the community, but the spring time is really our time to show the community how much we thank them and how much we appreciate them giving their support to us," said junior defender Blair DeGraw (Greensboro, N.C.).

The young girls were treated to an afternoon of fun as the soccer team led them through a series of different activities.  In one station, the girls formed teams and played soccer, in another they played a game of "Head-Catch" where a member of the team would toss the ball to a girl and say either "head" or "catch" and the girl would have to think quickly and respond by doing the opposite

"Our team gets excited and has fun going out and working with kids. The opportunity to give back to kids and the game that we love is always enjoyable," said head coach Heather Henson. The student athletes also agreed that it is important for them to give back to the community. "It's really good to get off the field and come do stuff for the community. Especially for the little girls, it lets them see a different side of being a girl. It seems that they have fun and we have a lot of fun helping them out," said junior mid-fielder Alexandra Schwark (Strongsville, Ohio).

The ETSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics takes pride in its community service activities and strives for 100 percent participation from its student-athletes, coaches and administrators throughout the year.