Last weekend, the Queens College women’s soccer and lacrosse teams joined the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation at the Al Oerter Recreation Center in Flushing, N.Y., to celebrate their annual “She’s On Point” event.
“She’s On Point” was created to celebrate, honor and engage young women and girls in sports. The Knights volunteered to assist with sports demos and fun activities, and the teams had a great time doing so.
“I enjoyed watching our girls really interact with these kids,” described Queens Head Women’s Soccer Coach Nicole Pacapelli. “It’s not often that they have the opportunity to be in this type of environment. The girls had asked me before the clinic what they should do and the type of session they should plan for. My response was ‘I’m not telling you what to do, just have fun with them.’ I think they did a good job at that and embraced the idea of acting as collegiate student-athlete mentors.”
“We loved having the opportunity to spend time with young female athletes in the community and expose them to lacrosse for the first time!” exclaimed Queens Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach Meaghan Smith. “A huge thanks to both teams who took part in the “She’s on Point” event and to NYC Parks and Rec for allowing us to be part of this special day.”
The Knights’ female student-athletes answered questions from the young women and girls, expressing the importance of sports and the impact sports have on their lives.
“Sometimes as a student-athlete, you forget the basis of your sport, and you forget why you started playing,” Pacapelli added. “But I think they found a way to remember that. During the question and answer session, the kids typically asked the same question in many different phrases – ‘Why do you play soccer?’ The most common answer was because it is fun. I think the day was a great way to reciprocally learn the reason everyone was in the same place that day – to remember what it’s like to have fun playing sports. It was great to give back to and support the NYC Parks and Rec Community.”
Source: http://queensknights.com/general/2016-17/releases/20170306p1njkd
