Help fund our team uniforms and practice equipment
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My name is Jonathan Alicea and I’m a physical education teacher at Cornerstone Academy for Social Action Middle School in the North Bronx. Last academic school year (2018/2019) was my first-year teaching, and along with implementing a fun and safe learning environment, I had the pleasure in starting up the school’s first ever wrestling program. Before wrestling, the school only had a boys/girls basketball team, flag football and track & field.
During my first year of coaching I had 16 brave students who knew nothing about the sport come out and join the team. Of the 16 students, I had one 4th grader, twelve 6th graders, one 7th grader and two 8th graders. Throughout the season my athletes became not only the best wrestlers they could be, but also the best student athletes and role models they could be. My 8th grader, Nicolas Gonzalez, was a student who struggled to stay focused academically and was content with subpar grades. Joining the wrestling team and being named team captain put the pressure on him to always strive to do better. In order to continue wrestling, which he thoroughly enjoyed, he had to maintain better grades. This later translated to Nicolas being on the honor-roll for the first time ever! Along with making honor-roll, Nicolas would later stand at #1 in his weight class at the NYC Wrestling Championships compiling a 4-0 record with 2 pins at the tournament. In every match Nicolas went into this year, he was considered an underdog because he had no prior wrestling experience unlike most of his opponents. However, given the way he practiced and conducted himself in our practice room of Cornerstone, I was not surprised to see him winning; it was an accomplishment he truly deserved.
This past year it was a little “casual,” in that our team, unlike most, did not have uniforms. Because the school had never had a team, there was simply no budget for them. Last year, we wrestled in shirts & shorts that were provided by the league and had the league’s name on it… Beat-The-Streets. Coming into our second year of existence, I am very fortunate to only have graduated two wrestlers from last year’s team and I fully expect a roster between 25-30 students to join the team this year. Therefore, I would like to raise $3,500 to fund my teams uniforms and practice equipment. I have reached out to a vendor and received an order form back from them that has our very own team name and logo customized onto apparel. The uniforms will consist of shirts that cost $20 and sublimated board shorts that cost $50. If I’m able to raise all the money, then I will also look into purchasing hoodies and sweatpants that my student-athletes will be able to use throughout the season as warm-ups. Furthermore, the uniforms will be utilized as loaners and the team will be responsible in returning them at the end of the season so they may be redistributed on a year-to-year basis for many years to come! Lastly, I would like to purchase two grappling dummies so wrestling throws and other moves may be demonstrated on them without the worries of possibly hurting someone if a move is not executed the correct way. We would greatly appreciate everyone’s support and donation no matter the amount!!!
During my first year of coaching I had 16 brave students who knew nothing about the sport come out and join the team. Of the 16 students, I had one 4th grader, twelve 6th graders, one 7th grader and two 8th graders. Throughout the season my athletes became not only the best wrestlers they could be, but also the best student athletes and role models they could be. My 8th grader, Nicolas Gonzalez, was a student who struggled to stay focused academically and was content with subpar grades. Joining the wrestling team and being named team captain put the pressure on him to always strive to do better. In order to continue wrestling, which he thoroughly enjoyed, he had to maintain better grades. This later translated to Nicolas being on the honor-roll for the first time ever! Along with making honor-roll, Nicolas would later stand at #1 in his weight class at the NYC Wrestling Championships compiling a 4-0 record with 2 pins at the tournament. In every match Nicolas went into this year, he was considered an underdog because he had no prior wrestling experience unlike most of his opponents. However, given the way he practiced and conducted himself in our practice room of Cornerstone, I was not surprised to see him winning; it was an accomplishment he truly deserved.
This past year it was a little “casual,” in that our team, unlike most, did not have uniforms. Because the school had never had a team, there was simply no budget for them. Last year, we wrestled in shirts & shorts that were provided by the league and had the league’s name on it… Beat-The-Streets. Coming into our second year of existence, I am very fortunate to only have graduated two wrestlers from last year’s team and I fully expect a roster between 25-30 students to join the team this year. Therefore, I would like to raise $3,500 to fund my teams uniforms and practice equipment. I have reached out to a vendor and received an order form back from them that has our very own team name and logo customized onto apparel. The uniforms will consist of shirts that cost $20 and sublimated board shorts that cost $50. If I’m able to raise all the money, then I will also look into purchasing hoodies and sweatpants that my student-athletes will be able to use throughout the season as warm-ups. Furthermore, the uniforms will be utilized as loaners and the team will be responsible in returning them at the end of the season so they may be redistributed on a year-to-year basis for many years to come! Lastly, I would like to purchase two grappling dummies so wrestling throws and other moves may be demonstrated on them without the worries of possibly hurting someone if a move is not executed the correct way. We would greatly appreciate everyone’s support and donation no matter the amount!!!
Organizer
Jon Alicea
Organizer
New York, NY