Franklin, MA- The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) is excited to announce the Chelmsford High School girls soccer team as the winner of the first half of the 2021-2022 MIAA Community Service Challenge! Members of the MIAA Student Advisory Committee reviewed 161 incredible submissions before selecting the winner.
The Chelmsford High School girls soccer team dedicated the last game of their season in honor of their friend and teammate, Emily Myerson. Emily passed away in March of 2021 due to medical complications and the team wanted to ensure they honored and recognized her during the soccer season. In addition to raising money for the Emily Myerson Scholarship Fund, Emily’s jersey number was retired, which the team represented in t-shirts they made to show their support to her family.
“Emily was and will always be a huge part of our team and our lives. She radiated positivity and was a phenomenal teammate and friend. She always had a smile on her face and her work ethic was admirable and contagious,” said Coach Leah Potcner and the team captains. “In addition to dedicating this season to her and naming her an honorary captain, it was important to all of us to have a game played in her honor – with the proceeds going directly to her foundation.” The final game was played at Simonian Stadium against Groton-Dunstable. Emily’s father, Peter, is the principal at Swallow Union Elementary School in Dunstable and the Swallow Union Community was a big source of support for the Myerson family as well. This event was planned and run by the Myerson Family, Emily’s Friends, The CHS Girls Soccer Team, and Coach Leah Potcner.
Dan Hart, Chelmsford Athletic Director stated, “It shows the strength of Emily’s ‘Inner Circle’ to take such a tragedy and turn it into such an amazing community celebration. Emily was loved by her classmates, coaches, teachers, friends, and everyone she touched.” He added, “It was only fitting that on a game played in Emily’s memory, Simonian Stadium was filled with members of the Chelmsford Community all donning “EM3” Shirts. The amount of time and effort they all put into honoring Emily was inspiring and impressive. Emily meant so much to so many, and this event was a fitting tribute to an amazing person.”
“We truly appreciate the recognition from the MIAA as it brings attention to Emily’s foundation. Emily set the bar high and we will always continue to live up to the standard of excellence she held herself to every day – both on and off the field,” stated Potcner.
Click here to review the full write-up.
The MIAA is grateful for the continued partnership with Team Up 4 Community (TU4C) that began in March 2021. The partnership encourages schools to submit their projects online providing sports teams the opportunity to showcase community service projects, demonstrating their commitment and impact on the community.
A total of 161 community service projects were submitted between August and December 2021. With 9,304 student-athletes participating in some type of community service project. In total, $219,663 was raised for charitable causes with 36,957 hours donated by MIAA student-athletes.
In addition, Concord-Carlisle High School and Bedford High School were selected as the runner-up for their incredible Kicks for Cancer fundraiser. Click here for the details of this service project.
Presentations of these awards will take place at the respective schools in the coming weeks.
Please be reminded to continue to submit your projects on the website. The second half of this challenge will run from January 1, 2022 – May 15, 2022! Winners will be selected shortly after May 15th!
Thank you to all MIAA member schools and student-athletes who participated in this years’ service challenge. To view all projects submitted, click here.
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