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Congratulations to 2002-2003 Seniors Ricki McLaughlin and Ryan Maitland, winners of our 1st Annual Lake Fenton Youth Football and Cheerleading Scholarship Award. This award is given to the graduating senior Cheerleader and Football Player who has exhibited outstanding performance on or off the field. They must be a past participant of our program. Ricki McLaughlin "My future plans are to attend the University of Michigan – Flint. My chosen major will be in Nursing. I hope to make it far in life and have a family some day. I strongly believe my experiences with the Lake Fenton Youth Football program helped to shape me into the person I am today by teaching me the importance of teamwork and good sportsmanship. I always enjoyed going to cheerleading practices and cheering for the players during the Saturday games. Those times are some of my happiest moments. The Youth Football program encouraged me to express myself and to "just have fun." It offered me a safe and friendly atmosphere to learn a new activity that became one of my life’s passions. It also gave me an opportunity to meet and make new friends, some of which I believe will be life long. Two of the most important impacts the Youth program had on me were instilling a strong sense of discipline and helping to develop self-esteem. These are two traits that will carry me through some of the most important events in my life and help me to be the best I can be. I also believe that the basic fundamentals that were taught and demonstrated helped me and the other team members on the Varsity Cheerteam, many of whom also started in the Youth Football program, achieve our goal of becoming MCCA State Champions. I would like to thank the Lake Fenton Youth Football program for giving me the foundation for a bright and promising future." Ryan Maitland "In the fall, I plan to attend Michigan Technological University to study Civil Engineering. Although Youth Football at Lake Fenton may not directly help me in engineering, many of the things I have learned will help. I started playing football at Lake Fenton the first year it was available. I played on some good teams, and some not so good teams in my four years of youth football, but it never really seemed to matter. It really was one of those situations where it didn’t matter if you won or lost. I think that this attitude taught me not to take things so seriously. It made me realize that some things aren’t worth getting stressed out about and if you do your best, you’ve already done more than enough. I also made some of my best friends in youth football. Some friends that are still some of my best friends now. I believe that friends really affect a person and who they become. Good friends can make all the difference and I think that they have helped make me the person I am today. Lastly, I learned many life lessons, which everyone should know. Things like fair play, teamwork, and sportsmanship apply to all aspects of life, not just sports. These things are important in school, work, and even just everyday life. I have to thank Lake Fenton Youth Football for a lot of things. I have to give thanks for giving me something fun to do. I have to give thanks for getting my football career started. But most of all I have to give thanks for helping me become the person I am today." |