Submitted by Quakertown soccer team
Most players would rather be sleeping in than going to soccer practice on the first day of the Easter break. But for the Quakertown High School girls’ soccer team, it’s one of the most anticipated practice days of the year. It’s the day of the annual Easter festivities, which include a candy hunt, Easter bonnet contest and a community service project that involves putting together Easter baskets for some families in need within the school district. “It’s something we started eight or nine years ago,” said Mike Freed, the head coach. “We liked the idea of doing something to give back to the community, and when we approached the school about it, they were very supportive.”
Each year the school’s social worker contacts the various elementary schools, asking them for a family that is struggling and could use some help. This year, the team had four families, all with single parents. Freed remembered one year where they had a family who was living out of a hotel because their home was damaged by a fire.Each grade is assigned items to bring. The freshmen brought canned and bottled goods, the sophomores boxed items, the juniors and seniors provided boxes of cereal and candy. There were items donated such as a ham for each family and a certificate for a night of bowling, along with some items purchased by the booster club, such as a restaurant gift certificate and Wawa hoagie coupons. With the candy provided by the upperclassmen, an Easter basket for each child in the family is prepared. The players then use their creative talents to decorate the boxes and personalize the baskets.
When completed, the team then contacts the families and arranges a time to deliver them.
“To me, this is the most important part of the project” said Freed. “When they visit the families and get to interact with the kids, they see how appreciative the families are and they realize the good they are doing with the project”. Usually, at least one car load of players delivers to each home.
“Our team comes together when we all interact like this,” senior tri-captain Marta Weisel said. “There are no cliques.
“When we deliver the baskets, all the families are so happy, and they’re so grateful for the baskets we give them.”
The basket project is the last event of the Easter festivities. The day starts with the candy scramble, with the entire penalty box (if outdoors) and the gymnasium track (if indoors) filled with candy and prize eggs. As the players are turned lose, the action often gets as physical as many of the games they play. Freed isn’t sure how much they really want the candy, but thinks it’s more about the “thrill of the hunt.” And the same creative talents that are used to decorate Easter baskets also come into play for the day’s next activity, the Easter Bonnet contest. Each player designs their own hat, usually incorporating a soccer and/or Easter theme.
“Nothing surprises us anymore” said Freed, who described some of the previous entries.
Some of the more memorable ones included a hockey mask with a Davey Crockett hat, several variations using traffic cones, a hobby horse and a potted flower plant.
This year’s entries proved as innovative as ever. Freshman Devin Reed’s sombrero had at least 50 plastic eggs glued to it, while junior Rachel Tizol managed to turn a three foot tall stuffed rabbit into a headpiece. The three captains all had original spins with Marta Weisel handing out lollipops pulled from her hat and Rachel Dolly’s traffic cone hat accessorized by carrying her pet rabbit. Taylor Batcsics, whose older sister had come up with the flower plant idea four years ago, took top honors with a hat that included actually cupcakes (which were consumed by the team at the end of the competition!)
Batcsics said she spend several days preparing her hat.
“This is the first year that everyone really got so into it,” she said. “It was so much fun.”
The players also decorated their team room.
“This is the first year we actually went all-out,” tri-captain Marta Weisel said. “We decorated the whole thing. It was great.”
So while the day may not improve the team’s soccer skills, the coaching staff all commented that they feel it goes a long way for team unity, allowing the girls to do some team building, have some fun, and accomplish something worthwhile.“It’s fun making up hats and having fun with our team the whole day, but it’s really nice to help out the community and see how happy people are when we bring them some food and treats on Easter,” Dolly said. “They’re usually overwhelmed with happiness. They don’t even know what to say – they’re just so grateful for it.
“The one lady we went to see – her son didn’t know we were coming, and he was just so happy. He hugged us, and he couldn’t stop smiling.
“We have a lot of fun playing soccer, but this gives us a chance to see a different side of the girls.”
“One of the nice things about it is the way we all come together,” Batcsics added. “We all have a chance to help people who need help, and we have so much fun doing it.
“The family we visited didn’t really talk – they were so shocked, they were so happy. All they could say was thank you.”
And that was more than enough.
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