Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Well, hello there and welcome back to another broadcast of just say somethings podcast. My name is Philip Clark and I am the CEO here at just say something. And remember, you can always reach out to us at 467-4099 or the web address is just saysomethingsc.org. so just know there are multiple ways to reach us. And if you ever want to come see us, we are at 850 South Pleasantburg Drive, suite 202, Greenville 29607.
So today we've had this young man that he's been on before, but we're bringing him back because we have some success stories and things that we want to share with you, our listening audience.
So today we have with us Stacey Ashmore, who has been with just say something. How long, Stacy?
[00:01:11] Speaker B: 20 years now.
[00:01:12] Speaker A: 20 years. He started when he was 20.
And so Stacy is director of our youth sports program called Impacts. So Stacy, welcome back.
[00:01:26] Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you, Mister Clark.
[00:01:29] Speaker A: Whatever.
So Stacy, as a reminder, tell our listeners what impact is and who it's for and what is our ultimate goal as an outcome with impact.
[00:01:50] Speaker B: Youth integrity. Sports is a free sports program that's provided for our youth in the community to build better character skills and communication skills in the community. We use sports to provide these skills and also life skills and the program, like I say, the program is free for children between the ages of six to twelve years old. So far, right now we have six title one schools, that's children's are participating in our program.
[00:02:23] Speaker A: Okay. All right. So when you say participated in our program, so, and you mentioned sports, what sports?
[00:02:30] Speaker B: We are doing flat soccer right now. We have flag football. And hopefully we just hoping and crossing our fingers we can find a gym to start training our youth with basketball. But our flag football program finished up about a month ago. And the last three weeks is our third week for soccer, which we have 33 kids participating every evening. We had last week we also had 22 parents sitting, watching and some of them come out on the field to participate and help their children with our soccer program.
[00:03:06] Speaker A: Okay, so where are you doing impact?
[00:03:11] Speaker B: Our impact is up at 29 Ridgeview Drive. That's upstate. Circle of friends here in Greenville, South Carolina. We meet every Wednesday night from six to eight.
We have so much fun, y'all. Honestly, if you come out there and just watch the kids and also just walk around and talk with the parents, you see how engaged the parents are. Glad to see their kids out of the house, out doing something and meeting friends.
[00:03:38] Speaker A: Okay. And is it for the kids who only speak English or is it available for kids who speak Spanish or both.
[00:03:51] Speaker B: All kids Spanish we have with our soccer program. I was talking earlier, our spanish program. Our soccer program is probably right now about 90% Hispanics. The children speak their bilingual. They speak English and Spanish. The parents just speak Spanish. The children sometimes have to translate for me, but they understand we understand each other. And like I was saying, we are just having a lot of fun at that.
[00:04:17] Speaker A: Okay, so say someone's listening out there. They have a child between the ages of six and twelve.
[00:04:25] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:04:27] Speaker A: How did they sign their kid up?
[00:04:28] Speaker B: They can go to just say something website. Go to our youth programs and they can sign up through our website.
[00:04:38] Speaker A: Okay. All right. And it's free?
[00:04:40] Speaker B: It is free.
[00:04:41] Speaker A: All right. So how long have we been doing impact?
[00:04:43] Speaker B: We have been doing impact now going on four years. Our first, we started right before COVID in 2020. We just only had flag football at that time, and it was very successful. And Covid hit it kind of like hit us in the pocket big time.
But yes, it's been. We've been going on with youth impact sports for four years now.
[00:05:07] Speaker A: Okay. All right. So within that four years, I know there's.
I mean, I've been there. I've seen them. There's kids all over, and we've. We've been able to impact a lot of the kids that are out there in a positive way. And so are there one or two stories that you might be able to share with our listeners to fill them in or update them on some of the kids that we're working with?
[00:05:37] Speaker B: Yes, we have several stories, but one of the best stories is I met a young man named Brianna Daz at North Franklin.
I was going up there to recruit some kids for soccer, and I just kept hearing this loud noise in the back of one of the apartment buildings. And I went back there, and this young man was a 10th grader at the time. He was kicking the ball. Bam, bam, bam, bam. Like, whoa, you play soccer? He said, no. I said, I'm trying to recruit some kid for soccer. Would you like to help me out? He said, no. I said, well, k, then I said, what's your name? He said, my name is Brian, and. But he told me where all the kids lived at. So I went and knocked on all the doors, feel all the kids came out, start practicing, and in two days, Ryan was out on the field. And so I, me, myself know nothing about soccer. I went and recruited some coaches. They saw Brian come out every day. We was over there and practiced with. Was practicing with us. And they kept saying, he's good.
This guy's good. And so we got him on Greenville United soccer club and their travel team. First he got on the club. One was not on the traveling team. Three weeks later, he come to me, mister Stacy, guess what? I said, what's up, brian? He said, I made the traveling team. I'm going everywhere with them now. I'm traveling. Brian was just used to working. Brian went on to play soccer for four years on varsity at high school.
Brian now went through the bridge program at Berea. Now he's at Clemson University in the. In bridge engineering program. He did not get a soccer scholarship, but the coaches say that he can come out and try out for the team.
That is awesome. For a young man that didn't even dream, never dreamed about going to college because he worked with his mother in a restaurant. The only thing he was thinking about was working until we introduced him to soccer. Youth impact.
[00:07:39] Speaker A: That's awesome. That's awesome. Those kind of stories can't help but send chills down your arms just because of the impact that it's made on not just him, but his family.
[00:07:53] Speaker B: Yes, yes.
And so, and also, you know, it's making an impact on a lot of the other kids field, because we only ask the kids, if you want to be a part of impact sports, it is free. This is what we want you to do for us, where we can keep this program going. Number one, attend school every day.
Make sure your truants is very low.
Number two, no referrals.
And we all, the last and least the last one, we say, we want you to improve your grades.
Those are the three things that we can measure the program by. And so far, we have not had anyone come by and say, oh, I missed 30 days of school, or I got 50 referrals, or, I'm failing class.
[00:08:44] Speaker A: Yeah. And we know, you know, due to Covid, that is a big problem in some of our schools, some more than others.
Is there another story.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: Michael?
He's one that we have to watch out for. He's at Berea High School also.
He played travel soccer for Greenville United. He's averaging two goals per game. He's been mvp two years in a row for Greenville United soccer club. And also this year, pass. I would have spoke with him a couple of weeks ago. He was the last year mvp for Berea high school. And this young man is only in the 10th grade.
[00:09:32] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:09:33] Speaker B: So this is another one of our impact that started up in 2000.
I meant 2020 for us. And I think he's going to be a little great talent coming out of north Franklin and Berea high school.
[00:09:47] Speaker A: Sounds like it. Yeah. Well, and so when we have those kids with soccer, um, we have a coach come out, Adriana. Adriana. And she does different drills and things for the kids. What does that kind of look like.
[00:10:04] Speaker B: For the kids when you see them first come on the field? She throws the ball out there and she just watch them. Everybody's kicking. Most of the smaller children's, they're kicking the ball like they're kicking a football.
But before the end of the day, they're doing the inside kicks.
She have all the training gear just about that we need, and she take all of the smaller children between six to nine years of age, and she just run them through all types of drills. Kicking drills with each other is no individual drills. They're all partner drills or three on three drills, because that's the skills that we want the kids to have, that togetherness. And so she do 102 on two and three on three drills with them. She have her cones, they run through, then they play a three on three soccer game, and it's just a lot of fun.
[00:10:58] Speaker A: Okay. All right, cool. And so when. When do you do soccer?
[00:11:05] Speaker B: We do soccer every Wednesday night starting at 06:00 p.m. at upstate Circle friends. And like I said earlier, the address is 29 Ridgeview way.
[00:11:15] Speaker A: Okay. All right. And for what, ages?
[00:11:19] Speaker B: Six to twelve now, go ahead. It's six to twelve. But if they have older siblings, that's just coming out, just sitting. No, they don't sit.
We bring them out on the field also.
[00:11:32] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:11:33] Speaker B: And so we have a. Another coach, Adriana son, Miguel, when he's there. But we have a gentleman, Mister Rodriguez. He came out the last two weeks and he's working with the ones 13 and older.
[00:11:46] Speaker A: Okay. All right. And how did they sign up?
[00:11:50] Speaker B: They just sign up, like I say, just go to.
Just say something website and go to our youth page and you will see the youth impact sports form there and just fill it out and just hit submit.
[00:12:06] Speaker A: Okay. As simple as that?
[00:12:07] Speaker B: Yeah, as simple as that.
[00:12:08] Speaker A: And then, so once they hit submit, then once we get it, what do we call them back?
[00:12:13] Speaker B: We give them a call back and the majority of they do not wait for us to call back. They call me and ask me, say, did you get my form? Some of them, I have to get a translator because they called. Did you get my form? I said, yes, ma'am, we have it.
[00:12:27] Speaker A: Okay, great. So remember, if you have kids at least six years old to twelve, or maybe a few years older. You can sign up on our website at just say somethingsc.org, go to the youth tab, and under that you will see a signup tab. And so click on that. Or if you have any questions, you can call here at the office at 467 4099. Well, Stacy, I want to thank you for all that you do for the kids and the families in Greenville and our surrounding counties. You are a kid magnet, and you're a super influence on the kids. And I know you have earned the respect of the kids. And so just for you listeners who are out there, Stacey is also our tobacco and vaping guru and is available to come to your class, your Sunday school, your camp, or whatever, and to do a tobacco and vaping prevention education program. So, Stacey, thank you for all that.
[00:13:42] Speaker B: You do, and thank you, Mister Clark, for all you do for support and youth impact sports. And like I say, hopefully next two years, it will be where we want it to be.
[00:13:53] Speaker A: We'll get it there. We'll get it there. All right. So once again, that is our podcast for this week. I'm Phil Clark, CEO here at just say something. And I look forward to seeing you next week. Have a great one.
