Rider Men's Soccer Scores in the Community
LAWRENCEVILLE--The scoreboard may have said zero goals at the end of the evening but for the Rider University men's soccer team, they attained their one goal for the evening, a 'golden goal' if you will, by scoring in the community.
On September 2, the Broncs gave the community of Ewing a much needed victory by hosting a clinic for the West End Soccer Association (WESA) under the lights at the New Turf Field on the Lawrenceville campus.
The team age groups ranged from U11 to U14.
"We started organizing this last February when the new field was being built," said head coach Russ Fager, in his 36th season at Rider. "The objective was to increase the fan base for games and to also reach out to the community and expose the kids to a top notch facility while improving their skills at a clinic."
Over 50 players participated in the two-hour clinic which featured six rotating stations (plenty of water) and moved at a pretty good clip, despite the 95 degree heat.
"This is a great feeling to be able to give back to the community," said Jim Bradley, a senior Marketing major, team captain and veteran of over 50 games, who helped coordinate the event. "I remember participating in clinics when I was younger and looking up to the athletes who were instructing me and thinking 'this is who I want to be'. Now, having kids looking up to us is a great feeling."
"All of our players at some point in their careers have participated in these types of clinics," Fager said. "Our goal was to now have our players give back and become teachers themselves and by doing that, they also reach the goal of becoming a better student-athlete."
West End boasts over 500 players in the recreational league and 10 teams in the competitive division. The recreational program represents players ages 4-18 with the competitive division comprised of teams U9-U19.
"The West End Soccer Association is in the process of rebuilding its travel program," said Gregg Downs, a 1993 Rider grad who coaches the U12 team in the almost 40 year old program. "For kids moving from the recreation level to the travel level and having them exposed to NCAA Division I soccer, this was big for them. This is probably going to be the highest level of soccer that these kids will attain and between yesterday and today, they've been inspired to work hard and achieve their goals. It was also a good experience for the parents to witness the event as many of them don't come from a soccer background. To see that soccer is more than kick it up the field, that there is a strategy behind it is an extremely important learning experience for all involved in our program."
"This was a fun group of kids," Bradley added. "They attended the game yesterday (against Lafayette) and we really enjoyed having them there. We are giving back to the game of soccer like those athletes gave to us when we were younger and that feels pretty good. The game of soccer has done so much for me and for my teammates by teaching us teamwork and leadership skills."
"It is fantastic that Rider University and the men's soccer team are doing this," Downs added. "We know that their season just started and school is right around the corner and how busy they are. For them to play a full game on Wednesday, do the pregame with the kids and come back out and give up a night of training to help us, we are very grateful."
"I've always believed that better than most, Rider University prepares our student-athletes for the future," Fager added. "When you are doing clinics and working with kids, it makes you more mature and gives you the opportunity to continue to learn and ultimately that's the goal, to be a good person off the field and a quality a student-athlete on it."
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