Hoosiers take time to give back

Somewhere between class, practice, homework, and everything else a student-athlete has to do, the Hoosiers find time to give something back to their community. Even though the team is halfway through the season, it has already reached out to the community three times.\nOn Aug. 23, the team participated in the first annual Latino Summer Festival. The event gave members of the community an opportunity to meet teams Seleccion Huracan and Seleccion Hawthorne Latino, both part of the Indiana Super League, as well as other amateur soccer teams. The team also took in a part of the Latino culture when they were taught how to salsa dance. Freshman forward Megan Sterrett said she enjoys giving back to the community.\n"I think doing community service is great," she said. "Bloomington has supported the school and the women's soccer team so much that it's great to give back to the community."\nWhen the team traveled to St. Louis for the Toys For Tots/Military Academies Classic, they spent the Saturday between games at a Special Olympics Clinic. Everybody on the team was paired with a child. They spent the day going through various soccer drills. Later in the day, some members of the team went to the local hospital to spread some Hoosier Hysteria. Sophomore forward Robin Barker said it was fun to play with the kids at the Special Olympics Clinic.\n"We taught them how to play soccer and then we played with parachutes and other things," Barker said. "All the girls came and it was interesting to get past the mental and physical barriers we sometimes have with people with disabilities. It's been fun to get in the community and do things other than soccer."\nMost recently, the team visited with local youth soccer programs for the Kicks for Kids promotion. The Hoosiers attended practices and acted as coaches for the youth teams. The Hoosiers also served as guest coaches for the Monroe County Grasshoppers club, a youth soccer team. Freshman midfielder Liz Davis said she likes the feeling of helping people.\n"I think it's great our team has gotten so involved in the community," Davis said. "It's a win-win situation because the team is able to get our name in the community and build a good reputation while providing the young kids, like the Grasshoppers, the opportunity to be around positive role models. It's always a good feeling to know you've helped someone, and I'm glad that soccer has given all of us girls on the team the opportunity to do so."\n-- Contact staff writer Cory Steger at csteger@indiana.edu.