Over this past weekend, nearly a hundred kids, ages eight to eighteen, gathered at Greentree Practice Fields at the University of Miami for the first annual Underdog Training Camp hosted by Dustin Evans, the Wide Receiver coming out of the very same university. The event included exciting opportunities like running drills with the players, age-bracketed 7-on-7 games, autographs, and getting to meet the Hurricane's cheerleaders. Financed with his affluent family's own money and some volunteer work, several Miami coaches, as well as teammates, organized a training camp for under-privileged kids in the area. Locals were very grateful to see the senior out there connecting with everybody.
“Both my son and my girl had a great time. It was refreshing to see them out with everybody laughing and getting to play ball. It really speaks volumes when athletes are able to make time to get in touch with the community. It means a lot to all of us.”
Despite the overcast weather, everyone managed to have a good time out there. Luckily, that fickle Florida weather subsided before it began.
While there are no Florida, let alone Miami-based teams in the NSFL (yet), community outreach is important. With Miami being such an important part of Evans' development as an athlete and a person, giving to back to the people, the one's that help make a city great, is illustrative of good character.
Evans and his family aren't newcomers to the charity scene, either. While he boasts no rags to riches tale, he does make a point of using his family's business money to better his community. Opening in '89, Evans' parents, Lisa and Ken, saw the grand opening of what is now a successful sports goods retail store, Ball's Sporting Goods – the main competitor of Dick's Sporting Goods. Since then, Dustin has dedicated a large sum of his own income to charity events as well.
What good is a little sunshine without a boisterous storm of clouds to darken the day, though? As Evans spent much of the upcoming week in preparation for the event, a few outspoken social-media cynics had some advice for him.
-What? Why? Draft day is WEDNESDAY! How about you focus on getting drafted first, then you can relax.
-You don't have to pretend like you care about Miami, we don't have a team. Would have been better off spending your money in another city.
Some people just can't let a good thing be good, can they? Up until this point, Evans has been nothing short of absolutely studious when it comes to his work. And you know what, even if Dustin didn't care about Miami (he does), would it really matter? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that none of his critics were anywhere to be found near the field when it came to watching those kids catching balls from Hurricane's quarterback Evan Shirreffs, or having Dustin running drills with the young football hopefuls.
You know what, though, I'm not going to sit here and pretend like I don't understand criticism. The fans (I'm going to assume they don't just outright hate Dustin), are likely more invested than they realize when making comments like these. They want to see him do well, of course, but when it comes to things like this, it's just bigger than football. Furthermore, I think it might even be safe to say that General Managers around the NSFL took notice of the training camp. Keep in mind that GM's aren't just drafting talent, they're considering the players' activity in the locker rooms and within the communities. So what if Miami won't be Evans' home forever. This only goes to show that he's prepared to invest in a place that he feels comfortable. I see no reason to believe that this positive behavior won't continue wherever he ends up. Regardless of where that might be, I can say with the utmost assurance, though, that they will not regret their decision. They'll be taking home with them an exemplary athlete and a role-model.
"I hope to make this a yearly thing, wherever I may end up; I want to bring this kind of happiness and opportunity to communities everywhere. -Dustin Evans
GRADED
“Both my son and my girl had a great time. It was refreshing to see them out with everybody laughing and getting to play ball. It really speaks volumes when athletes are able to make time to get in touch with the community. It means a lot to all of us.”
Despite the overcast weather, everyone managed to have a good time out there. Luckily, that fickle Florida weather subsided before it began.
While there are no Florida, let alone Miami-based teams in the NSFL (yet), community outreach is important. With Miami being such an important part of Evans' development as an athlete and a person, giving to back to the people, the one's that help make a city great, is illustrative of good character.
Evans and his family aren't newcomers to the charity scene, either. While he boasts no rags to riches tale, he does make a point of using his family's business money to better his community. Opening in '89, Evans' parents, Lisa and Ken, saw the grand opening of what is now a successful sports goods retail store, Ball's Sporting Goods – the main competitor of Dick's Sporting Goods. Since then, Dustin has dedicated a large sum of his own income to charity events as well.
What good is a little sunshine without a boisterous storm of clouds to darken the day, though? As Evans spent much of the upcoming week in preparation for the event, a few outspoken social-media cynics had some advice for him.
-What? Why? Draft day is WEDNESDAY! How about you focus on getting drafted first, then you can relax.
-You don't have to pretend like you care about Miami, we don't have a team. Would have been better off spending your money in another city.
Some people just can't let a good thing be good, can they? Up until this point, Evans has been nothing short of absolutely studious when it comes to his work. And you know what, even if Dustin didn't care about Miami (he does), would it really matter? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that none of his critics were anywhere to be found near the field when it came to watching those kids catching balls from Hurricane's quarterback Evan Shirreffs, or having Dustin running drills with the young football hopefuls.
You know what, though, I'm not going to sit here and pretend like I don't understand criticism. The fans (I'm going to assume they don't just outright hate Dustin), are likely more invested than they realize when making comments like these. They want to see him do well, of course, but when it comes to things like this, it's just bigger than football. Furthermore, I think it might even be safe to say that General Managers around the NSFL took notice of the training camp. Keep in mind that GM's aren't just drafting talent, they're considering the players' activity in the locker rooms and within the communities. So what if Miami won't be Evans' home forever. This only goes to show that he's prepared to invest in a place that he feels comfortable. I see no reason to believe that this positive behavior won't continue wherever he ends up. Regardless of where that might be, I can say with the utmost assurance, though, that they will not regret their decision. They'll be taking home with them an exemplary athlete and a role-model.
"I hope to make this a yearly thing, wherever I may end up; I want to bring this kind of happiness and opportunity to communities everywhere. -Dustin Evans
Code:
705 words, ready for grading
GRADED