Feb 20, 2017Combine Serves as Fundraiser
Youth athletes recently got to test their skills during a four-hour sports combine held at Marshall University’s Chris Cline Complex Field. Each competitor was judged on several drills, such as a 300-yard repeat shuttle, 40-yard sprint, and vertical jump.
“We are able to offer something fun and competitive for these youth to participate in,” Tom Belmaggio, Director of Sports Medicine at Marshall University, told the Herald-Dispatch. “We also offer performance training, which goes along with what we are trying to do here at the Marshall Sports Medicine Institute.”
The event serves as a fundraiser for the Hoops Family Children’s Hospital’s community outreach program. Currently, this program’s work focuses on getting AEDs into schools in the Tri-State area.
Along with its fundraising, the combine allows its participants to see how they measure up against others who are the same age. The competitive aspect helped draw more than 100 participants for this year’s event.
“If you want to be faster and stronger, this is what it takes,” Owen Chafin, a 16 year-old Spring Valley (Huntington, W.Va.) High School student who was at the combine, told the Herald-Dispatch. “You have to be able to put in the work to be successful in life. You can’t just sit on the couch every day and expect results. If it was that easy, everyone would do it.”
