The Observer, November 16, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 11
Women's soccer gives back to the community
click to enlarge
Do you remember a simpler time, some 10 years ago, when your role model was a professional athlete? Do you remember growing a little older and realizing that you wanted to emulate someone that is more than just in the spotlight? Imagine that your role model was someone even better than a tabloid headline of today's Us magazine. Would you ever have considered a college soccer player?
It all started with the initiative of the brand-new women's soccer coach, Tiffany Crooks. At her previous post as coach at Xavier, Crooks was accustomed to the policy of every athletic program being involved in a service project during the season. Soccer is already a big commitment for these student-athletes; they spend more than of 18 hours per week training and preparing for matches. Challenging academics mean that time is already at a premium.
Here is where the role model aspect comes into play:
Irenna Taylor is the coach to an 11-and-under soccer team from Chagrin Falls, just 16 miles off campus. Each player on the U-11 team was paired with a varsity soccer player from Case, some with more than one, because there are more college players.
The idea started out as a unique opportunity for the women to give back a little to the community by sharing their vast soccer knowledge with the younger, up-and-coming generation of soccer players. But it turned into something even more.
They started out small, e-mailing once a week. Soon, the women who are tough and aggressive on the field began to melt on the inside, and even enjoy this "mandatory" activity.
"They just said the cutest things. 'What color is your hair? Your number is six, that's half mine! Who's your BFF; I have two BFFs right now.' It just reminded me of how I was at that age," said junior Kaitlyn Yule.
After about a month of correspondence, the Case women invited their young charges to the Oct. 6 game at home against Brandeis.
On that sunny day in Cleveland, the Spartans took the field with a younger crowd. Complete with their bright orange jerseys, the Chagrin Falls team made posters for their pen-pals, yelling and cheering their favorite Case women on with fire-alarm-pitched encouragement that lasted until the final moments of the tough-fought loss.
"It looked like they had spent a good deal of time on those signs, it was just so cool. I really didn't think I'd get into it [the service project] until I met her after the game. I'm glad I had the opportunity this year," said sophomore Jen Soo Hoo.
As the moments ticked by at the end of the game, the girls couldn't wait until they would meet their role models in college. After the game, they got a little tour of their big sisters' stomping grounds, the locker room and NRV.
"I know I did something a little like this when I was younger; I was a ball girl for an older team. I know I looked up to them and it just is a great feeling to be in the position where someone is looking up to you," said Yule.
Returning the favor, five or six Case women drove out to the U-11 team's final game, seeing what they have heard about so many times in the letters.
"I had told them the practice prior that a few of the girls might be coming to their last game. Might. They couldn't sit still, they were so excited about their big sis coming to watch. Even when we're running drills in practice, all I have to do is tell them this is what the Case girls do, and they get so excited because they want to be just like them," said Taylor.
The majority of the Case women plan on continuing to e-mail their respective little sis as the Spartans' season comes to a close. As a part of coach Crooks' requirements, the team has to participate in a mandatory service project each semester. At first the team thought they would be giving back to the community. Little did they know they would receive such priceless moments to be cherished for many years.
"I told this one girl that she would be playing defense this game, and immediately she became elated. She continued to explain, 'why that's what Bridget [Mason] plays, I want to play defense because she does!' They wanted to be just like their big sis," said Taylor.
Still on the agenda is an end of the season party to reunite the two teams and another get-together at the start of the spring season.
