Louisburg girls soccer committee receives award

For the Louisburg High School girls soccer fundraising committee, it is hard to be more inspired than after raising $36,000 in 10 months to nearly fund the program.

Three weeks ago, they found out they could.

The committee received the Sprint Teamwork Award on Feb. 13 during the WIN for KC Women’s Sports Awards Celebrations at the Sheraton Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo. Their efforts for girls soccer in Louisburg got them noticed by the Kansas City program.

Led by Louisburg Soccer Club president Karin Olson and fundraising leader Diana Moore, the committee held fundraisers throughout much of 2014 and have almost achieved their goal of $39,000 to fund the first three years of the program.

“When you hear people say they are moved by our passion and inspired by ‘our story’ it makes you so proud, but at the same time we never even knew we had ‘a story’ until we won the Sprint Teamwork Award,” Moore said. “We were just doing what we thought we needed to do to help the girls get the soccer team they so deserved. I’ve been on some great teams, but this team of ours is the one team I’m most proud to be a part of.”

Several members of the committee attended the luncheon, including Louisburg High School junior Maddie McDaniel, who will take the field as a member of the first senior class in the program’s history. McDaniel joined Moore and Olson on the stage to receive the award.

“Being with a great group of people like that is really an honor because they have so much heart and they care so much about getting a girls team for the school,” McDaniel said. “Getting that award at the WIN for KC banquet was breathtaking and was really so much fun to be with them. Having that experience of going there and going up on stage to get the award will be one that I will never forget.”

Photos courtesy of Andrea Christy
Several Louisburg residents who had a hand in fundraising efforts for the last year made the trip to Kansas City for the award ceremony. Those pictured are (kneeling, from left) Amee Messer, Morgan Messer, Trinity Moore, Hallie Hutsell, Olivia Barber, Peyton Shaffer; (back row, from left) Andrea Christy, Maddie McDaniel, Karin Olson, Diana Moore, Gayle Hutsell, Stacie Shaffer, Angie Barber, Sara McIntyre and Angie McDaniel.

The Women’s Intersport Network for Kansas City (WIN) was established in 1994 with the mission to empower girls and women through advocating and promoting the lifetime value of sports and fitness, while providing opportunities for participation and leadership development. WIN is a volunteer, membership-driven organization that operates as a program under the umbrella of the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation.

“It was nice to see that others recognize how hard our committee worked over the last year,” Olson said. “Unfortunately, we still have about $2,000 to raise to meet our final goal.”

Along with their award, the group also had an opportunity to listen to featured speaker Amy Van Dyken-Rouen. Amy is a six-time Olympic gold-medalist swimmer and was also named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year.

In June of 2014, she was injured in an ATV accident that severed her spinal cord. Amy was paralyzed from the waist down, but has since made progress in her rehabilitation and shared her story with those in attendance.

“The other award winners and the keynote speaker Amy Van Dyken are amazing women and so inspiring,” Moore said. “To be able to be a part of it all and to have most of our committee, my daughter and the other girls there made the day even more special.”

The process will get even more emotional come spring of 2016 when Louisburg High School puts a soccer program on the field for the first time.

“I am out of this world excited to be playing soccer for my school,” McDaniel said. “You really can’t imagine how I feel every time I think about how I will be wearing that jersey and playing my favorite sport for my school. When the day comes that we take the field for the first time it will be overwhelming. It would be like I’m in a dream. I might start to cry as I am warming up or as the whistle blows to start the game. I know I won’t be the only one crying that day.”