PBC Helping Make Wishes Come True

Did you know that NCAA Division II sponsors a division-wide fundraising effort with the Make-A-Wish Foundation?

This nationally-coordinated effort was initiated by the DII National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is in its 8th year. Every DII institution takes it upon themselves to set goals, plan events and raise money for this wonderful cause. In the past 7 years of the partnership Division II student-athletes have raised more than $1.9 million, helping to grant many wishes for courageous kids, including over $400,000 last year alone.

This year a new effort has been introduced by the DII National SAAC, the first ever Division II “Week of Wishes” campaign. This year’s “Week of Wishes” focuses fundraising efforts during a one week stretch from February 18-26. Schools have been asked to raise awareness of the cause and target planning events for this time span.

“The Division II SAAC has worked tirelessly over the last year and a half to develop a new initiative that would enhance the current alliance between Division II and the Make-A-Wish Foundation,” said Hilary Cox, chair of the Division II SAAC and senior softball student-athlete at North Georgia.

“This grass-roots community relationship encompasses every attribute Division II stands for and aligns with our strategic plan. We are hoping that through the Division II’s Week of Wishes campaign, we can raise national awareness to our ongoing sponsorship of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.”

This first ever “Week of Wishes” is winding down, and a number of Peach Belt Conference institutions have held events on their campus this week.

The Columbus State SAAC held its first-ever CSU Student-Athlete “Date Auction.”  The event took place on February 23rd and an admission price of $1 was charged to see the festivities. Twenty-one student-athletes were “auctioned” and had to come up with creative ways to get the highest bids in raising money for such a wonderful cause (while keeping it appropriate, of course).  Each participant and winning bidder will be treated to a group “date,” hosted by SAAC, on February 25 after the men’s basketball game in the President’s Club. Bids started at $1 and increased by $.50 increments. The total amount raised was $816.

Georgia Southwestern’s SAAC is in the middle of a number of fundraisers, including two Penny Wars challenges, one between departments on campus and one between GSW athletics teams. In addition, student-athletes participated in a spare change rally during the home men’s and women’s basketball games on February 22nd.

Francis Marion’s SAAC got involved by selling Make-A-Wish wish stars during their Homecoming doubleheader basketball games on February 18th and also having a half-court shot contest during halftime of the women’s game that day.

Flagler’s SAAC is hoping to continue the success of their “Play 4 Kay” bake sale, which raised over $400 for breast cancer research with another bake sale dedicated to Make-A-Wish during the men’s basketball game on February 245th. Saints cheer and dance teams, volunteers, and athletic staff will be selling baked goods that have been bought, donated, and hand-made, and they hope to exceed the previous bake sale’s total.

The Armstrong SAAC has been selling wish stars and baked goods at the Armstrong Student Union to help raise money during the entire week. The student-athletes have had a table located in the lobby of the Student Union to sell the stars and goodies. Stars are being sold for one dollar each and the baked goods range from fifty cents to one dollar.

Montevallo’s SAAC is holding a Silent Pie-In-The-Face Auction, in which the faculty are volunteering their faces, during their basketball doubleheader on February 25th. Many of the teams have picked a faculty member to approach and ask if they would be willing to donate their face for the Make-A-Wish cause. Each faculty/staff member will be paired with the winning bidder for a pie-in-the-face during halftime of the men’s game.

Make-A-Wish is an outstanding cause and one which NCAA Division II and the Peach Belt Conference are proud to support. If you would like to support this partnership, click here to submit a donation on behalf of your favorite PBC institution.

Career Corner

As the now famous NCAA tagline goes, there are over 400,000 student-athletes and most will go pro in something other than sports. In the Peach Belt Conference alone we have around 3000 student-athletes, and I would guess less than 1% will become full-time, professional athletes.

This brings me to a new feature we are launching on the Peach Blog, the Career Corner. This will be a recurring feature on the blog that will highlight topics and issues relating to career advice and development. We will be posting interviews with professionals offering their words of wisdom, as well as resources student-athletes can use to enhance their job prospects.

But we need your input! What topics do you want to see showcased in the Career Corner? Please let us know in the comments section here on the Peach Blog, or communicate with us on Facebook or Twitter. We will do our best to incorporate your ideas into future posts!

“Like” NCAA Division II on Facebook

For the next 48 hours, NCAA Division II is donating $1 to Make-A-Wish for every new “like” on their Facebook page, up to $5,000! Make a difference with the click of a button! http://t.co/4nRA3Jox

Interested in a Career in Sports?

Many student-athletes (myself included) have exciting and fulfilling experiences through playing their chosen sport or sports. It is only natural then that when some student-athletes finish their playing career they want to continue working in athletics, whether as a coach or an administrator. It seems simple really. There seem to be countless  opportunities to work in sports, whether at the high school, college or professional level. But ask anyone who is working in athletics today, especially someone who got their professional start recently (myself included), and they will most likely tell you how difficult it is to get your foot in the door.

So how does one get their foot in the proverbial “door” of an athletics career?

The NCAA Career in Sports Forum may hold the answer to that question. The Forum, an initiative undertaken by the NCAA’s is, “an educational forum where selected student-athletes will learn and explore careers in sports, sports law and sports entertainment with a primary focus on intercollegiate athletics.  By achieving the following objectives, the forum is effectively marketing careers in coaching, administration, officiating, sports law and sports entertainment as viable professions.  Additionally, the forum is working to dispel myths about careers in athletics, as well as, facilitate the opportunity to obtain information from future athletics professionals.”

That is the stated mission of the Career in Sports Forum, and if it sounds good on paper, it is even better in real-life. The next one is slated to take place this coming June in Indianapolis, with an application deadline of next week (Friday, February 17 at 3pm to be precise). Applications will be scored and ranked, with the best getting accepted to attend this outstanding program.

So how does one apply?

If you are a student-athlete interested in attending you have to be nominated by your institution so the first step is contacting an administrator or your coach and letting them know you want in. The next step is working with them (or whoever is the person in your athletic department that will submit the nomination, usually the SAAC advisor or SWA) to complete your application in time.

Is it worth it?

The only way to truly know that is to go and experience the Forum for yourself, but as a former student-athlete working athletics now, I wish I had this opportunity back then. The networking alone is invaluable, not to mention the educational sessions that help put you on the path to starting your career in athletics.

Here are a couple of videos taken from a recent NCAA Career in Sports Forum to give you a better idea of what it is all about:

North Georgia Baseball Preview

By: Jodie Borchert

With the competition baseball season on the brink of the first pitch, the North Georgia Saints are eager to prove their place on the collegiate baseball preseason top 40 poll. With the Fall season under their belt and some intensified strength-building routines, the 34-man troop will not have any winter dust to shake off this Spring.

P Blake Hobby

As a team that has built a reputation for cultivating Major League draftees (with leading catcher Troy Snitker taken by the Atlanta Braves in the 19th round of the draft this past summer), North Georgia will look to some new and some returning players to guide the team. Among the top returners is senior pitcher Blake Hobby, who ended the 2011 season as part of the starting rotation and with a 1.76 ERA. Junior outfielder Kenny Bellavance, who earned a spot on the 2011 Peach Belt All Conference Team, in part by maintaining a stellar .317 batting average, also returns. In addition, freshman newbie Tremayne Toorie, who earned First Team All-County honors while attending Brookwood High School, joins the Saints. It seems as quickly as professional baseball is able to snatch the blue and white boys, North Georgia is able to round up a new crowd of prospects.

OF Kenny Bellavance

Unpredictable Georgia weather, along with an abundance of talent has led to less time on the field and more time in the gym. Although the conditioning routines haven’t changed a whole lot from previous years, their presence in the work-out room has been extended and intensified. Strength and conditioning coach Blake Podson, believes that the time taken from the field and put into the gym has aided the team’s strength and endurance, and that we should expect to see a leaner, tougher team than ever before. And I know as a fellow student athlete, I have spotted the baseball guys in the weight room more often than ever within the last couple months.

The Saints fell in the middle of the Peach Belt Preseason Poll, trailing behind Armstrong, UNC Pembroke, Georgia College, Columbus State, and Francis Marion. The team looks forward to rematches against the highly ranked West Florida boys, who suffered their only series sweep under the lights of Bob Stein Stadium, and another opportunity to face-off with the Division I Florida State Seminoles on April 18^th. However, in the words of Head Coach Tom Cantrell, “You can’t look at any game more importantly than another.” This same strategy that has carried him and his team through 12 consecutive winning seasons will continue to reign unto this Spring’s promising harvest.

The season kicks off this weekend in sunny south Georgia, at the Comfort Suites Classic.

Click HERE for the 2012 North Georgia Saints Baseball Media Guide