Empower Ripley High Athletics through Adventure

Hey there. Believe it or not, but I am the Ripley High Varsity Boys and Girls Soccer coach, and I am raising money not just for my athletes but for Ripley High Athletics/Band as a whole. Ripley is a small agricultural town in west TN and it is where I grew up. As for me, I was a 2 sport Ripley High School athlete (golf and tennis) as well as a videographer for the football team, back in the day. Now I am an adventurer (hiked the Pacific Crest Trail for 5 months, kayaked the Mississippi River source to sea for 76 days, and have done two 600 plus mile bike tours most recently), manage the radio station my granddad managed for over 50 years (WTRB 1570 AM 104.9 FM) , varsity soccer coach, and communications director at my childhood church. I have more hats I've worn over the years but those are my current ones.

If you can't tell, I currently can't go off for multiple months at a time on an adventure but I've been trying to do a short yearly adventure. This year I'm getting ready to do another bicycle tour called RAGBRAI. RAGBRAI is a 7 day (between 430-550 mile ride) yearly bicycle tour across the state of Iowa, and this is it's 51st year. You should check it out and see what I'll be doing, and I encourage you to take on a similar challenge.

I do these type of things one because I love pushing myself and seeing new places at a slow pace, and two for not just my kids, but all student athletes/band members of Ripley High School. I want to share whatever I raise with this endeavor with all the girls, boys, and coaches at Ripley High.

I am trying to build up the soccer program, and I am sure the other programs would like to have some help, as well. I want to be able to buy more training equipment, new uniforms for both the girls and boys teams, and even water and ice without worrying about if I am going over budget. It is hard to be decent in sports without these abilities and soccer here has not been as popular or as successful as other sports. Both the girls and guys have had their best seasons in a decade since I have took over in 2023 and my coaching can only go so far. So I and so many kids and coaches would be grateful for anything you can contribute.