A SportsWeek i C
Also More Stories, Religion and Classifieds august 11,2016
Triad girls learn soccer skills
from Women's World Cup
and Olympic champions
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
The names Mia Hamm, Kristine
Lilly and Tisha Vinturini-Hoch are
synonymous with the sport of soccer
around the world and mpre so here in
the Tar Heel state. All three women
were superstar soccer players for the
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill during the mid -1990s.
The women partnered with Blue
Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
(BCBSNC) to hold three soccer clin
ics this past weekend in Raleigh,
Winston-Salem and Charlotte. The
Live Fearless Soccer Clinics are a
way for the soccer legends to teach
the girls a few soccer skills but also to
enlighten the girls on the importance
of healthy living for themselves and
their families. The camp was hosted
at the Twin City Soccer Club.
"With this campaign, we are
going to talk about living fearlessly.
Getting outside of your comfort zone
is how you challenge yourself and
grow as a person," said Hamm. "We
want them to know that setbacks and
mistakes are a part of life and how
you respond to those tells you who
you are and what you are made of.
You just have to keep trying to
improve as a player and a person."
The girls in the camp were very
eager to show the legends their skills
and learn a few tricks to add to their
skills on the field. Even with the hot
and humid temperatures Saturday
afternoon everyone was happy to be
there. During the introduction of the
Hamm, Lilly and Venturini-Hoch
their stats and career achievements
were read which many of the girls
knew verbatim.
According to Hamm, the girls will
be participating in some basic drills
such as stop start and change of pace
moves. They will then move to drills
that will assist in passing, dribbling
and shooting. She said in the short
time frame they have with the girls
they want to try and touch on as many
skills as possible. Most importantly
she said she wants the girls to have
fun.
Hamm, Lilly, and Venturini-Hoch
were a part of the USA Soccer
Women's National Team during the
See Soccer on B2
Photo by Timothy Rune)
The young girls at the clinic were shown a number of drills to enhance their play along with advice on
healthy living.
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
The late night summer basketball
league at the 14th Street Recreation Center
was the place to be for nearly two decades.
A few years ago, the league seemed to be
in trouble with other leagues popping up
left and right all across the city. Thanks to
Louis Lowery Jr., director of 14th Street,
the league has been resurrected.
The league held its championship
game Monday, Aug. 1, at the Hanes
Hosiery Recreation Center. Team
Unknown faced off against '
Finesse Game.
According to Lowery, the
league started off as the "Barn j
Burner" league, which was played |
outside at the Skyland basketball
courts. Lowery stated that Robert
Little, director of 14th Street at the
time, was instrumental in the Barn Burner
league's transition to the late night summer
league during the late '90s.
The league was created for African
American youth, 18 and up, to
1 _ f 1
Keep uiem on 01 uie i>ueeis ana
doing something productive dur
i ing the summer. Many of the
I teams throughout the years have
been comprised of former and
current collegiate players, pro
fessional players rrom overseas
and local players.
"We play Monday through Thursday
and we have a good solid crowd every
night," said LOwery. 'The gym is packed
and we have people parking everywhere
trying to get in. Some people come out
every day to watch the games and get so
hyped up they make the players play at
another level."
Lowery stated that they decided to play >
the championship game at Hanes Hosiery
See Rec Center on B2
Cheerleading camp exposes young girls to the basics
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
Cheerleaders are an
important addition to many
sports teams. They keep
the home crowd energized
and give a lift to the team
when they'are down.
DeNea Crowell, a for
mer cheerleader at North
Forsyth High School, is
holding a camp at some of
the area recreation centers
to give girls a taste of what
it's like to be a cheerleader.
Crowell was born and
raised in Winston-Salem
and has been cheering j
since age 6. She has
cheered locally at the
Winston Lake YMCA
?long with the P^p Warner
league with the Packers.
She went on to be a cheer
leader at North Carolina
Central University.
She has been a coun
selor at various rec centers
in Winston-Salem and
Durham. She has done a
camp previously in
Durham but wanted to
bring the camp here to give
local young people a
chance to leant whht she
knows.
"The reason why I
wanted to teach cheerlead
ing to the children is
because I love and enjoy
children and I feel like
there is no point in perfect
ing a craft if you can't
teach it to someone else,"
said. Crowell. "I lye see
ing the growth of the girls.
Some girls come to the
camp and have never
cheered before and some
have, but watching each
individual girl come out of
their shell and perfect their
technique just makes my
day."
Crowell is currently
holding camps at the 14th
Street and W.R Anderson
rec centers. She stated ini
tially she wants to go over
techniques with the girls to
give them a proper founda
tion. She then will transi
tion over to motion, which
is the base for every cheer
or dance. Once the girls
perfect the basics, they will
learn jumps such as tucks,
See Camp on B2
riww uy 11wwny namwy
DeNea CroweU ends the camp with a prayer, thanking the Lord for keeping
^everyone safe from injury during practice. ^