Future Sports Stars Shine in Corpus

By Ryan O'Keefe

The Young Athletes Program is a sports play program designed to introduce children ages two to seven to the world of sports prior to Special Olympics eligibility at age eight. Over the weekend the awesome folks at Texas A&M University in Corpus Chrisit held their 4th Future Sports Stars Day for young athletes in the Corpus Christi area. All 13 children that participated in the event had great one-on-one attention throughout the entire experience.

The Young Athletes are given fun activities at various stations that build upon their foundation skills: walking and running, balance and jumping, trapping and catching, throwing, striking, kicking and some advanced skills.

Special thanks goes to Misty Keterson and her class that hosted the event on the TAMU-CC campus. The students were responsible for the entire event from recruiting volunteers to set up and tear down. It couldn't be done without their help and we are so grateful for all they do for our athletes.

"The best part of the whole day was watching the parents play with the other children and seeing the look on their (parent's) faces when their little one went up to accept their ribbon. There were huge smiles on the both of them," said Area Director Alice Fulton-Garza.

Next year, the group is working on recruiting more athletes to ensure that they are getting as many qualified children participating in the Young Athletes Program. It's a goal of Misty and Alice's that is easily attainable, after all who wouldn't want to be a part of the fun that comes from a Future Sports Stars Day.