Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association See It! Be Initiative
Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association, known for inspiring, motivating, and supporting all youth but especially those who live in under-resourced communities, has created the See It! Be It! College Sports Day, where we will collaborate with local colleges and university programs to deliver grassroots soccer and equity training for interested players.
Through this program, we look to inspire kids from intercity areas who have a goal to play a varsity sport in college. During See It! Be It! Day, interested athletes head to a local college campus where they are encouraged to reach their athletic goals while working alongside college-level players as they work the sidelines and cheer on the teams. Reading Recreation Division, a newer organization consisting of up to 200 children, traveled to Alvernia University on October 12th for a fun day filled with a campus tour, food, and of course, a soccer match!
The event was sponsored by Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association and our See It! Be It! Initiative, where the kids had fun going out with the players during their announcements, a scrimmage on the field, and lunch in the stadium. After the game, the kids had the opportunity to meet the players, and learned the value of attending college to help them aspire to be something special when they get older. Each child received a shirt to wear during the event and a bag filled with Alvernia swag. "This was a big college rivalry night in the city of Reading, but it’s much more than that. It’s an opportunity for the youth soccer players to see what their future can hold if they work hard on the field and academically. It’s important for the kids to have people to look up to and to see all that is attainable for them," commented Amanda Bezner, Alvernia University’s Women’s Assistant Coach.
Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association looks forward to the next event on October 22nd at Elizabethtown College, where the team from The JT Dorsey Foundation in Harrisburg will tour the campus, eat at the stadium, make a tunnel entrance for the players, and scrimmage during halftime.
