Good morning peeps!
I hope you have enjoyed the last post, which kind of caught everyone up to speed on my journey and how things have transpired over the past 2 years. This weeks post will continue to keep you all up to date with events that happened last year in 2011. I wanted to touch on a couple topics. My move back home to my hometown of Tracy, CA, and my charity, Pros2Youth.
We last left off covering the 2010 roller-coaster year and ending with a successful season as a top-10 UFL player. Gaining that kind of recognition only left me to believe that things were looking up and that 2011 was going to be amazing. Lets just say the expectations where higher than ever.
In early 2011, I made the move back to my hometown of Tracy, CA. Its not easy living out of a suitcase and literally having your personal belongings scattered around the country. I was living in Omaha, car and clothes in Seattle and the rest of my belongings at my parents home in California. I made the decision to move back to Tracy after 8 years so that I could have a place to "call home" for a while. I knew Tracy would be a good place to hang my hat while I train for the season, be close to family and work in the community to build my Pros2Youth charity.
I found a nice studio in town and made it happen. I first reached out to my high school and the football team. Having a passion for health, fitness and training, I felt like it was a good idea to help the football team with their off season training program. A friend of mine was opening a new training facility in town, so I also felt that if could help me on this project, that it would benefit his gym by getting around the kids and networking. We got approval to run a 12 week program for the team, and we hit the ground running! Without going into too much detail, the program was a success, it was fun, challenging, and rewarding! I believe those kids got better and enjoyed working hard with us.
During this time, I was working on my 2nd annual Pros2Youth event. The year before was a success and I wanted to bring it back and make it even better. With the help of so many supportive people and more time, I felt it was going to get bigger too! This year I partnered with two non-profit organizations which I felt meshed well with Pros2Youth and athletics. One was a Hydrocephalus non-profit which dedicated its focus to the rare brain condition that people encounter. With head injuries being such a main focus in the NFL and other sports, I felt it would be great to help shed light on the matter. The other was a heart screening non-profit that dedicated its time to screening the hearts of kids. We hear about the tragic stories of athletes collapsing and dying on the court or field due to heart complications. This was an opportunity to screen kids who may not have the opportunity to do so! Who knows, a life can be saved! We were able to screen 40 kids during the event for free and offered the screenings to others for $10. I also wanted to use the event as a way to expose the UFL and the local team, the Sacramento Mountain Lions, which were only an hour away from my hometown.
We kicked off the second annual Pros2Youth event on June 25th, 2011and it was once again a success. I had the help from the Sacramento Mountain Lions, the mayor of Tracy, and several local business owners. Our goal was to raise money for the youth football teams in the community and provide a great experience for kids to interact with pro football players. 14 NFL and UFL players came out to support the event and hang with the kids. Hall of Fame cornerback, Willie Brown, other Oakland Raider players, and players from 4 of the 5 UFL teams were present. The UFL Mountain Lions cheerleaders also came to help.
Check out some of the pics from the event! "Like" our Facebook fan page to follow the action
http://www.facebook.com/Pros2Youth
I has been such an ultimate pleasure working with the kids of the community and creating Pros2Youth. I firmly believe that every pro athlete should take advantage of the professional platform and give back. Every kid has a role model and most of the time it is an athlete and/or celebrity they watch on TV. We all start somewhere and very few are fortunate to fulfill their dreams, visions and goals. Why not share that success with our youth and communities? Our youth need our support, encouragement, and guidance. They are our future and they are our hope for a better tomorrow!
GODBless,
Matt Overton #45
