This Thursday, April 11th, the athletic department will be rolling out our first ever “Go Johnnies Challenge” fundraising event. I am thrilled with our Institutional Advancement office’s willingness to partner with us to help move the needle in athletics!
Like you, I want the absolute best experience for our young men as they compete in Johnnie Red. In this competitive era of MIAC and Division III soccer I see that a key element to providing this experience is the quality of the coaching staff. In recent years we have been falling behind on the coaching component as competing soccer programs are finding creative ways to bring in full-time staff - be it through full-time grad assistants, pooling money for partnering with other campus departments for joint positions, etc. I am regularly faced with this while out recruiting and rubbing elbows with these assistants.
The absolute top priority for the soccer funds raised on Thursday will be increasing the hours of our lead assistant coach, Grant Bell, to be able to utilize his skills and talents in a more full-time fashion. His soccer resume is stunning and includes being named to Division 1 Bradley University’s all-conference team three times and being awarded all-region status twice. He then played professionally in Sweden with Nordvärmlands FF. He was the Bell brother that got away as all three of his brothers became Johnnies: Chris ’05 baseball, Eric ’10 soccer, and Thomas ’19 soccer.
The boys on the team are deeply excited about the possibility of having Grant with us in an increasingly more effective way. Please understand this--ALL money donated to Johnnie Soccer will go directly to improving the program. Additionally, funds will go toward things and activities that directly improve the experience the boys have while they are working their tails off and competing.
Right now we have generous alums that have already set up matching funds to incentivize others to join the Go Johnnies Challenge. Because of lead donations by Jim Byrne ‘84, Terry Leiendecker ‘84, and Pat Haws ‘72, we are able to publicize that the first 50 donors will each trigger $100 in matches! I am asking you to join the challenge in some fashion—as a donor, an advocate, or by setting up a match. Here are two documents that outline and explain how you can impact and improve the program. Thank you for your support!
5 ways to show your support (PDF)
Hit me back if you plan on making the Alumni Game at 2:00 this Saturday in the Skalicky Dome as well. I ordered souvenir t-shirt jerseys for the alums this year!
Our FAMILY vs. their team,
John
If you aren’t following our Twitter or Facebook, get on board so you have a front row seat for the fireworks on Thursday!