Miami Dolphins Announce Week Nine Youth Programs Awards With Partner Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE)
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November 3, 2016
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Miami Dolphins Announce Week Nine 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 nine 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: Kevin Oliver from Western High School. Oliver is a senior defensive end and had seven tackles, three tackles for a loss and two sacks last week. His performance helped the Wildcats take down Miramar High School and earn their first playoff berth in 10 years. Oliver also leads both Miami-Dade and Broward County Schools with 16 sacks.
- High School Coach of the Week: Adam Ratkevich from Western High School. Coach Ratkevich has been instrumental in the program’s turnaround over the last three years. When he took over as head coach, the team had just come off of a 0-10 record and did not score a touchdown in the first seven games of the season. The Wildcats are now playing with a newfound confidence as they defeated Miramar High School last week for their first playoff appearance in 10 years. Up until last week’s win, Western High had never defeated Miramar High in the school’s 35 years of existence.
- Youth Player of the Week: Zamarion Lawson from the Palmetto Bay Junior Bandits (75 pounds) of the Greater Miami Pop Warner. Lawson rushed 10 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-18 double overtime thriller over the Little River Saints.
- Team Mom of the Week: Cassandra Figueroa from the Dick Conley (DC) Steelers 7U of the Florida Youth Football League. Figueroa is a great team mom, because she always motivates the team to do their best during practices and games and reminds her players to be true student athletes – school first, football second. She is very passionate about the game of football and how it teaches kids to work together. Figueroa also helps the coach keep the team’s paperwork in order and coordinates the players’ game-time snacks with parents. She goes above and beyond to help the team and the league be the best youth league in Florida and she always lends a helping hand wherever she is needed.
Today, Officer Brittany Assam from the Davie Police Department was on hand to present the awards to High School Player of the Week Kevin White and High School Coach of the Week Adam Ratkevich at Western High School.
Each award recipient will be presented with a plaque on the field during the Nov. 6 Dolphins home game at Hard Rock Stadium against the N.Y. Jets, 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.
