Blog Posts - InSports Foundation

Stephen Weatherly Football Camp

7/12/2019

On July 8th, we were able to partner with the Eagan YMCA, Active Solutions and multiple schools to put on the Stephen Weatherly football camp. The day was hot and sunny, with temperatures reaching 85 degrees. Stephen, a fourth-year defensive end for the MN Vikings, was extremely excited for the camp and the opportunity to work with kids in the Twin Cities area. During the camp, the kids were able to go through multiple stations, each teaching them a different part of the game.

Stephen’s favorite (as well as the kids’) was the Touchdown Celebration drill, where kids were able to catch a pass and then have a dance party in the endzone with Stephen. Displaying high energy, not being afraid to try new things and having fun were common themes throughout the day.
Next, the kids took a break and were led through a goal-setting and healthy-eating session by the InSports staff and Weatherly, where they shared their personal goals for leading a healthier life.

Soon, it was back to the activities as the kids were able to play full field “capture the football” games where they were able to work on teamwork and communication. Stephen, as well as some of the volunteers, also joined in on the fun.
The day wrapped up with a quick Q&A between Stephen and the kids, and with the presentation of the camp’s trophies, including the MVP and Best Teammate awards. Every camper also went home with a signed mini football from Stephen.

We were thrilled to partner with Weatherly as his passion, energy and dedication to the game is contagious! An amazing opportunity to kelp kids get in the game!

Summer InSports Recap!

8/9/2018

FOUR School Districts
EIGHT Locations
FOURTEEN Dates
OVER 3,500 Kids

We are beyond excited to announce that over the summer, we impacted over 3,500 kids through our Summer InSports Days. We teamed up with Chaska/Chan, Bloomington, Osseo and Hopkins School Districts for fourteen different InSports Days. We had many sunny days filled with lacrosse, soccer, capture the football, healthy eating, and other activities to promote a happy, active lifestyle!

By partnering with summer school programs to provide free sports clinics throughout the summer, all of these kids got an opportunity to get IN the game. Not only did these kids try new sports, but they also got the opportunity to learn the importance of staying active, healthy eating, and goal setting. In order to encourage them to become confident and successful leaders of their community. We look forward to heading back out next summer!

Hopkins School District | Summer InSports Days

8/8/2018

On August 1st, we kicked off our InSports Days with the Hopkins School District at Tanglen Elementary School and the following week, our InSports crew went out to Gatewood Elementary! Although Hopkins was our smallest group with about 70 kids attending both sessions, we got them excited and active with four different activities!

The kids got the opportunity to play lacrosse, soccer and a PE game called Lord of the Rings ran by Active Solutions. They also got to attend a healthy eating session put on by Twin Cities Orthopedics and Training HAUS. As the day wrapped up, all kiddos were able to take home a TCO stress football as well as a healthy snack pack from Matter.

We are so thankful to be able to give kids the opportunity to play sports and learn the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. A big THANK YOU to our partnerships and Hopkins School District for being important parts of making a difference in these kids lives!

Osseo School District | Summer InSports Days

7/23/2018

Throughout the month of July, we partnered with the Osseo School District to host 3 InSports Days for their elementary school-aged students. The Osseo School District runs a summer program called "Camp ROCKS" and we were thrilled to be able to be part of it for a second year.

Kicking off our partnership with Camp ROCKS, on July 11th, we were at Rice Lake Elementary School in Maple Grove helping 280+ try soccer, LAX, and capture the football.

Then on July 18th, we got the opportunity to introduce the importance of an active, healthy lifestyle to the 250+ kids at an InSports Day at Zanewood Elementary School in Brooklyn Park.

Lastly, we went to Palmer Lake Elementary School in Brooklyn Park to do our final InSports Day with Osseo School District of the summer with 300+ kids.

We are so lucky to be able to give these kids the opportunity to play sports and learn the importance of a healthy lifestyle. HUGE thank you to Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Matter, Active Solutions, and Osseo School District for being important parts to making a difference in these kids lives!

Chaska Middle School • InSports Day

7/10/2018

Last Monday, July 9th, we hosted an InSports Day for 6th - 8th graders at Chaska Middle School. These 150 middle school kids got the chance to play on the Chaska High School fields while enjoying the beautiful, sunny day. This one-day event consisted of 4 stations: Lacrosse, Soccer, Capture the Football, and our healthy eating session led by Training HAUS and Twin City Orthopedics.

It was a fun-filled day trying new sports, team-building, and learning the importance of healthy eating.The kids even were able to take home healthy snack packs from Matter and a TCO sponsored stress football to continue the fun at home!

Summer Kickoff II InSports Days

6/26/2018

This summer we are partnering with Chaska/Chanhassen, Osseo/Maple Grove, Hopkins, and Bloomington school districts to put on a total of 14 Summer InSports Days. Our InSports Days are designed to help expose students to new sports and get them IN the game.

Throughout the day, we provide these students with skills clinics, healthy eating and goal setting sessions with the help of Active Solutions, TCO, and MATTER. Following the camp, students are given the opportunity to apply for scholarships to continue their passion for sports.

Last week, we kicked off our first Summer InSports Day of our 6-week program at Clover Ridge Elementary in Chaska, MN. Eaton's team came out to volunteer with us and give over 300 kids, ranging from first grade to fifth grade, the chance to experience a fun day of soccer. We are excited for more activities with them in the weeks to come and can't wait for the other school districts to join in on the fun!

Interested in joining us for an InSports day? Learn More

Meet the Camper • St. Paul Saints Scholar

6/20/2018

For the fourth year running, the InSports Foundation and the St. Paul Saints teamed up to provide eight scholarships for local youth in the community. The scholars were given the opportunity to participate in different games and activities throughout camp as well as meet some of the Saints players and coaches.

Keeping children active is an important part of youth development and this scholarship gives kids, who may not have the necessary resources to get out and play everyday, a chance to get IN the game!

We are beyond excited to introduce one of our scholarship recipients, Hero!

Hero shows great interest in athletics and was very excited to join Saints players and coaches for the 3-day summer baseball camp!

What sports do you play?

"I like playing baseball, basketball and soccer. I also want to join karate!"

What is your favorite sport?

"My favorite sport is soccer because it gives you a lot of exercise with your legs and feet."

What was your favorite part about camp?

"My favorite part about camp so far was playing 'Hot Box'!"

Fun Facts!

Hero's favorite color is red. His favorite animal is a cheetah because they are fast!

"I love camp because it's fun and you get to make new friends!"
- Hero

MATTERbox Madness and Summer Harvest for Kids

6/18/2018

Last Thursday, June 14th, we partnered with MATTER to support the Summer Harvest for Kids Campaign and the MATTERbox Madness packing event to make sure no Minnesota kid goes hungry over the summer. We are proud to announce that the Summer Harvest for Kids Campaign raised $282,500 which will help more than 565,000 kids this summer.

The day consisted of participating in the 5 Eyewitness News Summer Harvest for Kids at the Mall of America where we set up our InSports "Put to Win" booth. At this booth we introduced kids to golf and also were able to give away four St. Paul Saints tickets. Then our InSports team had a ton of fun while helping to pack thousands of healthy and delicious 'You MATTER' snack packs for at the MATTERbox Madness event.

5th Annual InSports Golf Tournament

5/30/2018

Now that summer is in full swing, the countdown to our 5th Annual InSports Golf Tournament has begun and we are working hard to make it the best one yet!

This year our tournament will take place on September 19th at The Wilds Golf Club in Prior Lake, MN. With a goal of raising $55,000, our team is hard at work. The event includes a full round of golf, along with a silent auction, lunch, cocktails, dinner, prizes and a presentation from the InSports team.

All of the funds raised at the tournament will go directly towards our mission of helping kids get in the game and will be filtered through our three programs: InSports Days, Scholarship and Team Sponsorship. We can't wait to see you all there!

MNUFC InSports Days

5/23/2018

We were lucky to have two beautiful, sunny days for our Minnesota United FC InSports Days on both May 12th and 20th! The 115 kids we helped got to experience two fun days of soccer by getting IN the game at TCF Bank Stadium. The camps each entailed a skills clinic on the field then staying to enjoy the United FC soccer game!

HUGE thank you to everyone who volunteered, all our donors, board members, and supporters for allowing us to put on amazing events like these! We could not have done it without any of you, especially The Sanneh Foundation.