Kpreps is please to bring back the A Class Athlete (ACA) weekly sportsmanship award for the 2021 season. We have teamed up with 'A Class Athlete' (ACA) to recognize those individuals or groups that demonstrate sportsmanship and high character during the heat of action. This award is open to students or student-athletes who goes above and beyond to demonstrate an act of kindness or sportsmanship.
This week’s winner (Week 1) – Columbus Titans.
Last week, the Columbus Titan football team showed their support for Christian Heady – a 12-year-old boy from Webb City (Mo.) who passed away early on Friday, September 3rd after a courageous bout with cancer. Christian’s father Doug Heady is the meteorologist at KOAM TV in the Pittsburg/Joplin market and his documentation of his son’s condition and fight captured the attention and the hearts of the entire Four-State area. According to his father’s Facebook post, Christian underwent 20 rounds of chemo, 11 surgeries, and 10 rounds of radiation.
Christian attended Webb City schools and was a member of the Cardinals’ youth football program. The Columbus Titan football team donned helmet stickers that stated “#88 won” in reference to Christian’s jersey number. Jaime Schalk took a picture of the Titans showing their helmets and the “#88 won” sticker after their game with Frontenac concluded on Saturday morning.
We appreciate the compassion of the Columbus Titans players and join them in their prayers for Christian Heady’s family and friends.
Each week during the season, we will choose an individual or group as recipient of this award. Winners will receive the Sportsmanship Excellence Award Certificate, and the unique ACA helmet sticker as part of our Kpreps Helmet Stickers feature. At the end of the season, we will choose one overall winner, for the annual Kpreps-ACA Sportsmanship Award.
Please help us by emailing your nomination stories, pictures, or videos to matt@kpreps.com and ACA@kpreps.com. You can also send to Kpreps via social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc). Please include the name of the person(s) involved and a description of the act or event that you are nominating. Nominations for the award will be accepted through Tuesday of each week, with the winners announced thereafter. We will list the weekly winners here, at kpreps.com, and also on aclassathlete.com. The overall winner will be announced after the State Championship games.
ABOUT A Class Athlete:
A Class Athlete was started in 2016 to encourage young athletes in all sports, to play hard, play to win, but also to play with class and dignity. Originally targeting youth sports, ACA quickly expanded to include middle school and high school sports, and beyond (coaches, cheerleaders, fans – everyone!). In recent years, participation in youth sports has continued to decline, and the #1 reason according to the kids: 'It's not fun anymore.' ACA is determined to bring the fun and the kids back!
Participating in sports is very beneficial in many areas. It helps build confidence and self-esteem, teaches respect, teamwork, and leadership skills, and improves communication and cooperation – all qualities needed to be successful in life. It is said that participation in sports reveals a persons’ character. But ACA believes, when sportsmanship is emphasized, it is a very important aspect in building a young person's character and integrity.
For more information, please visit www.aclassathlete.com.
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