Case Athletes Give Back by Ashleigh Tondo

Case for Community Day is an annual event in which Case students give back to the community. Case Association of Student Athletes (CASA) organizes a sports clinic for inner city schools in the area where the students can play volleyball, soccer, track, football, and basketball with our student-athletes. The athletes and coaches from these specific teams volunteer their time to lead the kids through drills to make a day of fun and learning.

Our team was split into two groups, with help from Coach Reimer in Adelbert gym and Coach Blade in the Veale Center. I was stationed in Adelbert gym with Coach Reimer, some fellow teammates, and members of the softball team. Although we had to play in the dark, due to malfunctioning lights, it was a fun experience and it is always great to teach the game of basketball.

The stations consisted of passing, shooting, ball handling, and rebounding which were lead by Caitlin Henry, Sydney Berry, Erica Iafelice, Marissa Miles, Sarah Milligan, with our softball players, Mary Kruszka, Kayla Lang, Anneliese Fetterman, Lauren Wolz and Katie Slivar. Mary and I were in charge of the ball handling station where the kids learned how to properly dribble and protect the ball.

I thought I was doing a good job of keeping their attention, but soon realized I couldn’t compete with the volleyball pole sticking out of the ground. I guess the kids had more fun swinging around that then learning how to dribble. Needless to say when that plan fell through we decided to do dribble relay races—that seemed to be a hit.

I think my favorite part of the day was when we watched three of girls sing while doing a step dance. Each girl was called out during the song and did a split or cart wheel as the steps and clapping persisted. I believe it went something like, “we so fly (stomps), we so fly

(stomps), Shakira so fly (split)” and this continued for a few minutes until each girl was able to do their own pose. It was really comical to watch and put a smile on everyone’s face.

After numerous drills, water breaks, huddles, and a couple bruises, the day soon came to an end. We were all tired and our energy was spent, but it was a satisfying experience knowing that each of us made an impact in their lives and provided them with a day of fun.