One of the best parts about what we do is
community relations. It seems like we always have people
doing outreach types of things in the community.
Personally, I have volunteered for the Special Olympics, gone
to read to children, been a part of after school
activities with different children's groups, done some
poetry lessons with children, and a few other random
activities. In the fall, I am going to be in a classroom two
or three days a week, just helping teachers with
whatever they need. (That is where the Psych and Soc come
in...more later) <br><br>I think that is one of the best
parts of being a professional athlete....being a role
model to someone else while giving them the opportunity
to find out that professional athletes come from all
walks of life and that we are "normal" people. Yes,
playing soccer as a job is great but for me, there is
more to it than avoiding a 9-5. We give young people
something to believe in and that gives me more satisfaction
than anything else I have done. <br><br>Okay, I am off
my soap box and will wrap this up for now. I will
try to get you some more team-type stories in the
future but I also wanted to give you all a chance to
know where I am coming from on the things I write.
That way you can have a shot at understanding what
this all means to me. <br><br>Thanks for reading and I
hope you continue to check out the journals so that we
know people are interested in the league.