AYW Spotlight | Molly Morgan
RICHMOND, VA (October 25, 2017) – The ECNL and the Amazing Young Women movement are dedicated to showcasing females that have helped shape the league into the top female youth soccer development platform in the world. As part of the movement, the ECNL encourages amazing young women to share their stories.
We are excited to announce Molly Morgan as the ECNL Amazing Young Woman Spotlight of the Week. Morgan has played in the ECNL since her U14 season and currently plays on the U18/U19 Ohio Premier ECNL team. She is working toward leaving a positive mark on the world in her Senior Capstone Project by using soccer as a way to give back to underprivileged children in Guatemala.
The Senior Capstone Project at Upper Arlington High School encourages students to participate in an endeavor that enriches both the student and the community in some form. Morgan decided to dedicate her project to the Mayan Families organization, a non-profit organization that promotes community development to the impoverished populations in Lake Atitlán in rural Guatemala. She chose Mayan Families after learning about the dire need for donations from a teacher who had travelled with the organization and expressed the desperation they were in.
In order to collect donations, she has decided to host a 4v4 tournament at her high school with each participant donating soccer equipment in order to enter the tournament. It was important to have soccer be a part of her project because of the positive impact it has had in her life. Morgan realizes how influential soccer has been in providing her amazing opportunities, life-long relationships, and a sense of community.
“I recognized soccer as a way for the people of Guatemala to build community during the struggles they are experiencing. I wanted to host the 4v4 tournament to replicate that bond in our community for that day, and have everyone know that they are working towards this specific cause,” Morgan said about her decision to host a tournament to collect donations.
Morgan already has over 50 players committed to play in her tournament on November 12th. She has also secured donations for jerseys from the ECNL and additional equipment such as balls and goalie gloves from SOCCER.COM. In addition to equipment donations, she has set up a GoFundMe to raise money to send food and medicine to Guatemala through Mayan Families.
The donations will contribute funds and equipment to communities where many men are day laborers who struggle to find consistent work, most women are illiterate, and their meals are scarce and lack nutrients. Her contributions will affect the 12,000 children that Mayan Families supports, but she is planning on making her project more personal by setting up a video conference with a local school to inform them of her project and the donations she will be sending.
“I have been lucky to experience the bond of community not only through my local soccer family here at Ohio Premier and at my high school, but from traveling across the country playing in the ECNL. I hope that the people I am donating to will have the opportunity to experience a small sense of community I have felt in my lifetime,” Morgan said about the impact she hopes to have in Guatemala.
She will continue to collect donations for Mayan families through November 12th when she hosts her 4v4 tournament. She will then send all of her donations to Mayan Families who will make the delivery to Guatemala.
Morgan has been active in community service in Ohio throughout high school so when her Senior Capstone Project ends, she will continue her work with Special Olympics and JRDF, the leading global funder of Type 1 Diabetes research. After high school graduation, she will be heading to the University of Richmond to continue her education and soccer career.
Thank you, Molly Morgan, for embodying what it means to be an Amazing Young Woman and making a difference in your community and around the world. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!
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About Amazing Young WomenTM: Launched by the ECNL, the Amazing Young Women is a dynamic platform of online and local market activations that showcase and celebrate female role models offering an aspirational focus for all female athletes and teens as they prepare to be our next generation of leaders. The ECNL is calling on all of the nation’s women to join the movement to celebrate the endless potential of today’s girls.
Women of all ages can share their personal moments of inspiration through social media and at www.AmazingYoungWomen.com. Every share and submission helps drive a movement that celebrates the power of what it is to be a girl today.
Amazing Young Women of the ECNL will be showcased at AmazingYoungWomen.com. Through testimonials, tips and tools, the website is providing all girls to view, share, and celebrate what it is to be motivated, strong, and successful.
About Elite Clubs National League: The Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) was founded in 2009 to enhance the developmental experience of female youth soccer players in the United States through: (i) improving the competitive environment through creation of a true national competitive league; (ii) improving the process for identifying elite female soccer players for college and youth national teams through a systematic scouting and identification program based on national competitions; and (iii) improving the daily training environment at top female youth soccer clubs through developing best practices and training and organizational guidelines for its member clubs. The ECNL is sanctioned by US Club Soccer and is sponsored by Nike Soccer.
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