ACA Sportsmanship Award: Belle Plaine & Medicine Lodge
Back on September 9th, the Medicine Lodge football team traveled to Belle Plaine for their Week 2 match-up - but this night was a little different. On this night the student sections from both teams, cheerleaders, parents, and many other fans, wore gold in support of Belle Plaine sophomore Matthew Arndt, who has been battling cancer for nearly five years. September is childhood cancer awareness month, and many wore the gold 'Tackle Childhood Cancer' t-shirts.
In addition, the Belle Plaine faculty and students raised more than $2,000 for Matthew and his family, and also surprised him with tickets to see his favorite team, the Seattle Seahawks, when they play the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Eve.
Thank you to both schools in supporting Matthew, and also bringing awareness to childhood cancer. And congratulations on being named a Kpreps-ACA Sportsmanship Award winner.
Throughout the season, we will choose individuals or groups as recipients of this award. Winners will receive the Sportsmanship Excellence Award Certificate and be recognized at Kpreps.com.
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 throughout the season 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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