FARMINGTON – Sound Mind Sound Body, a leading force in academics, athletics, and life skills, is delighted to announce the immense success of its recent League Wide 7v7 Event. The event on June 17 connected 4,000 skillful athletes, coaches, volunteers, spectators, and sponsors to celebrate the 2023 season.
The affair featured 7v7 tournaments and incorporated linemen challenges and cheer performances. The layered event encompassed all moving parts of the youth league, allowing each player and cheerleader to showcase exceptional teamwork and good sportsmanship. With ten organizations participating, the event created an electrifying kickoff to the 2023 season.
Coach Jermaine of the River Rouge Panthers 9u team shared, “We came out and competed. We made good and bad plays, of course. We are a running team, so this was fun for us.” The Panther started speed training in February and implemented learning fundamentals in recent months.
With major hopes of impacting every athlete’s life, Coach Jermaine shared, “I want them to be productive citizens in the world. My main thing is for them to be responsible and accountable for their own actions. Everything we do is accountability base. It’s a tag team effort of both coaches and parents.”
Athletes shined on the field, many sharing their anticipation for another summer to build camaraderie, compete, and work toward personal goals. With over 1,100 volunteers, coaches play a large part in driving athletes toward self-awareness and success through exposure, leadership, team bonding, time management, and, most importantly, confidence.
Heaven Horton will be attending Cass Tech in the Fall and has been a part of the West 7 Rams since she could cheer. Horton shared what has motivated her to cheer throughout the years, “Us coming together as a team. Those girls are really like my sisters, creating new bonds and friendships. You get so motivated when you’re in a great environment.” Horton wants to focus on business and marketing in the future and has already set expectations for college. “I have been looking at colleges with good business programs, and FAMU is one of the HBCUs I saw. I started looking into it, and I think it’ll be a good fit for me.”
Jamauri Foster who plays RB/WR/LB for the Westside Cubs’ 14u ended his freshmen year at River Rouge HS with a 3.6 GPA. plays . “I played basketball in the off-season and made money while working.” Foster has learned the importance of time management as a student-athlete with a job and is planning to go into entrepreneurship in college. “I would like to own a business and do things outside of football. I’m very vocal, confident and can lead people.”
As Sound Mind Sound Body continues its mission to ensure students enroll in post-secondary education, we also look forward to dismantling barriers of statistics and inequalities through mentorship opportunities and fostering the development of positive attributes.
Sound Mind Sound Body Youth League has over 1,100 volunteers who spend approximately 300 hours annually giving back to Metro Detroit youth. Sound Mind Sound Body’s after-school program is a unique curriculum that ensures students matriculate to post-secondary education by successfully prioritizing and balancing life skills, athleticism, and academics.
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