DeckMates, Steamwheelers' Players Talk to Kids About Not Taking Drugs
Published on June 13, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
Davenport, Iowa â With the local and national news covering stories of drugs and drug related activities around the world these days, taking the time to talk to children about the effects of drugs is always helpful. That is just what a couple of Quad City Steamwheelers players and DeckMate Cheerleaders did this past Tuesday and today (Thursday).
On Tuesday, QB Tony Zimmerman and OL/DL T.J. Schneckloth (a graduate of the Davenport School System-Davenport West) spoke to approximately 250 National Youth Sports Program kids at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. The two spoke about people that they have known who have gotten into trouble with drugs, as well as comparing and contrasting a person who uses drugs and a person who doesn't. After speaking for about 45 minutes, the popular pair signed autographs for almost an hour, signing every autograph that was requested of them.
"It's a great service to the program," said Wayne Cable who is a Program Liaison for the camp. "It not only reinforces what we are trying to say, but sometimes it impacts the students in a different way. They are more likely to listen to someone like a pro athlete other than the people who work with the program.
On Thursday, four of the DeckMates returned to the camp to speak about their knowledge of the effects of drugs. After Megan Miller, Katie Zajicek, Ali Toolate and Julie Zigenhorn performed their sideline routine, they signed autographs for all the kids. The DeckMates were also asked by many of the boys for hugs, which they had no problem with.
"It was nice to see these professional athletes and cheerleaders come in and make some strong statements about what decisions they should make in life," said one of the camp's group leaders Brett Jacobs.
"Our NYSP campers recognize the players and cheerleaders because they follow them pretty closely," Camp Director Ray Shovlain said, "so it adds a professional take on it, it was very well received and it was great to have the Steamwheelers take their time and effort to do this. I know the kids appreciated it.
The National Youth Sports Program is a program funded by the NCAA for economically disadvantaged children aged 10-16. The five-week camp is free and starts every morning at 8 am and finishes up at 2:15 in the afternoon, running five days a week. The campers are fed twice a day and also have transportation available to and from the camp. There are five activities that the students participate in every day, as well as attending an enrichment class to cover the educational component. The activities include: swimming, basketball, football, softball, soccer, tennis and a fitness class. St. Ambrose University has held the camp on their campus for the past 22 years.
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