ACA Sportsmanship Award (Week 1): Riverton & Galena
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 – Riverton Rams & Galena Bulldogs
Cheerleaders from the Riverton Rams and Galena Bulldogs worked together to collect donations for the family of Brandon Pate during the game between the two schools on Friday night.
Pate, a teacher at both schools, passed away on Sunday at the age of 45 after a sudden illness.
Pate was a standout basketball player at Pittsburg State in 2000-01 and was recently named the head boys’ basketball coach at Riverton back in May. He had served as an assistant coach at both Riverton and at nearby Joplin High School.
After Friday’s game, players and coaches from Galena and Riverton prayed for Pate and his family on the field. The communities of Galena and Riverton are separated by 4 miles in extreme southeast Kansas.
We join in offering our thoughts and prayers to Brandon’s family and friends and to the communities of Riverton, Galena, and nearby Joplin.
A GoFundMe has been established for those who would like to help Brandon’s family.
Throughout the season, we will recognize individuals or groups as recipients 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.
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.
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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