Miami Dolphins Announce Week 14 Youth Programs Awards With Partner Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE)
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December 7, 2016
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Miami Dolphins Announce Week 14 Youth Programs Awards With Partner Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE)
Miami – The Miami Dolphins and the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) recognize the Week 14 youth football players, coach and parent who have demonstrated their commitment to being leaders on and off the field:
- High School Player of the Week: Mike Epstein from St. Thomas Aquinas High School. The senior running back rushed for over 100 yards and had four touchdowns last week as he helped the Raiders advance to another state final. What’s even more impressive is that Epstein is playing at such a high level after missing his entire junior season due to an ACL tear. Congratulations to Mike Epstein and the entire St. Thomas team for advancing to the State Championship.
- High School Coach of the Week: Patrick Surtain from American Heritage High School. Surtain was a standout cornerback for the Miami Dolphins from 1998-2004. In his first year as a head coach, Surtain has earned a birth to the State Championship.
- Youth Player of the Week: Brody Palhegyi from the Plantation Wildcats 13U of the American Youth Football league. Palhegyi threw three touchdown passes and led his team to a 40-22 victory over the South Miami Grey Ghosts, ending their three-year undefeated streak.
- Team Mom of the Week: Andrea Reid from the Boca Braves of the Gold Coast Pop Warner football league. Reid is an attorney by the day and team mom by night. She is not your ordinary team mom, but is what the team calls “a youth football and cheer handy woman.” Need a volunteer? She’s there. Need good volunteers? She’ll find them. Need donations and funding? She’ll get it. Outside of Pop Warner, Reid a member of the Executive Council for the Florida Bar Family Law Section and serves on numerous committees within the organization. She also is a former secretary for the Florida Association for Women Lawyers and Domestic Violence Council of Palm Beach County and an Angel Mom for the Place of Hope at the Haven, whose mission is to rescue abused and neglected children.
Each award recipient will be presented with a plaque on the field during the Dec. 11 Dolphins home game at Hard Rock Stadium against the Arizona Cardinals, and receive acknowledgement of their accomplishment in the game program and through the Dolphins’ and RISE’s social media platforms. They also will receive a pair of tickets to a Miami Dolphins home game and a Dolphins/RISE T-shirt.
As a newly added component of the program and part of the Dolphins/RISE partnership, winners will be empowered to make a difference by participating in a RISE training program where they will learn how to use the unifying power of sport to promote the importance and benefits of unity, equality and inclusiveness as well as address racial tensions their teams, schools and communities might experience.
Awardees also will be encouraged to take a pledge, committing to stand up to racial inequality and share how they plan to affect change by creating a “How I RISE” video message, which will be posted on RISEtoWIN.org.
About Miami Dolphins Youth Programs
The Miami Dolphins Youth Programs’ mission is to emphasize the importance of education, physical fitness and positive choices for kids in a safe and fun environment. The Miami Dolphins Youth Programs’ vision is to prepare the next generation of leaders in staying physically active through our Junior Training Camps (JTC), Youth Football Clinics and Youth Football Camps. The goal is to promote Youth Football in the South Florida community.
About the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE)
Founded in 2015 by Stephen M. Ross, the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to harnessing the unifying power of sports to advance race relations and drive social progress. Supported by an unprecedented alliance of sports leagues, organizations, educators, media networks, sports professionals and athletes, RISE uses sports as a vehicle to promote understanding, respect and equality. Through public awareness campaigns and educational programming, RISE aims to spark enduring action. To learn more, visit RISEtoWIN.org.
