High school soccer game to benefit injured military

At the end of Cox High School boys’ varsity soccer scrimmage on March 8, the big winner will be the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP).

For the past five seasons, the Falcon’s soccer team has devoted one of their regular season scrimmages to raising money for a community organization. Each season the team has battled its alumni on the soccer field to raise funds for Special Olympics, Hampton Roads Soccer Council, Saint Mary’s Home for Disabled Children and the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, among others.

The scrimmage on March 8 will raise money for a military organization — the Wounded Warrior Project, which benefits military members wounded overseas.

Assistant Varsity Coach Scott Mead is extending a special invitation to all Hampton Roads military to attend this year’s scrimmage.

“We would really like to see a lot of the military come out. We’re located in an area where there are a lot of people heading overseas,” said Mead.

Admission to the game, which begins at noon, is free. Tickets for prize drawings will be sold throughout the scrimmage for just $1 each. Prizes will include one night’s stay at a local hotel, free tax preparation, restaurant gift certificates and shirts, among other items. Mead said the prizes also include a variety of sports items autographed by sports celebrities, including baseballs signed by David Wright.

One of the soccer players working toward his Eagle Scout award will be selling concessions during the game. Proceeds from those sales will fund his community service project.

The first year saw the high school team play against nine alumni from the varsity soccer teams, which raised nearly $350 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation. By 2007, the scrimmage had grown to include 33 alumni from as far back as 1973, including several community leaders. It raised more than $2,000 for the Brain Tumor Society (BTS).

Mead explained the team has been very fortunate with the number and quality of sponsors over the years. Several of the sponsors have been with the team since the first season, while others have donated their services or money in subsequent years.

“It’s an official scrimmage, so “It’s an official scrimmage, so it’s sanctioned under the Virginia High School League and counts as a game,” said Mead.

Because the high school team can play against as many as 15 current or past college players, Mead said, “It’s a great game for the kids.”

We’ve had a pretty solid group since two years ago. We’ve had the same 15-16 show up and every year we add a few,” Mead said about the alumni team.

Cox alumni have played college soccer for the College of William and Mary, Old Dominion University and Virginia Commonwealth University, among other colleges. Mead joked as soon as his players graduate, they start planning to come back to play in the scrimmage.

Although the alumni have never beaten the varsity team, last year the teams tied, with a 2-2 score.

Sponsoring the Wounded Warrior Project has a very personal significance for Mead. His cousin, deployed to Afghanistan, was wounded last Memorial Day weekend. Like many families thousands of miles away, they were unsure of the extent of the soldier’s injuries at first. It wasn’t until Mead finally received a call directly from his cousin, who was in a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, that he was reassured he would recover.

One of the things his cousin talked about was how he appreciated the Wounded Warrior Project providing him with a book bag that included a CD player, a phone card, clean clothing and toiletries, among other items. The items provided some comfort to the wounded soldier, who was unable to return to Fort Bragg, N.C. until October.

“He was very impressed,” said Mead about the Wounded Warrior Project, who then began researching the organization to find out more.

Mead is also a “military brat,” growing up between Key West, Fla. and Hampton Roads. His father, Richard, retired from the Navy. Mead’s mother, Cathy, has been a Department of the Navy employee for more than 20 years, serving as the Oceana Youth Programs director.

About the Wounded Warrior Project

WWP just exists to raise money for and awareness about the wounded soldiers and help with the various programs to give back to the soldiers,” explained Ayla Hay, the public relations counselor for the Meridan Group, which represents WWP.

WWP was founded in 2002 by John Melia. Melia, who was a first lieutenant in the Maryland Army National Guard, was injured off the coast of Somalia, in 1992. While recovering in a military hospital from burns that covered a good portion of his body, there were items and care Melia wished he had received throughout his long hospital stay.

Following that experience, “He made a promise to himself and some friends that when the soldiers came back wounded, they wouldn’t have to go through the same things,” explained Hay.

In the beginning, Melia, his family and friends packed the backpacks full of comfort items in their basement and delivered them to the men and women with traumatic injuries, such as brain injuries, severed burns and amputations, who were recovering at Walter Reed Army Hospital,

WWP backpacks contain essential care and comfort items, are all designed to make a hospital stay more comfortable. The packs are now provided to severely wounded service members as they arrive at military trauma centers around the country.

Mead’s cousin received a Transitional Care Pack, which WWP sends directly to Iraq and Afghanistan to provide items such as clothing, a phone card and toiletries that needed as the injured service member is relocated to a state-side military hospital.

“Sadly, with so many people in this war who have been injured, this program has grown,” said Hay.

WWP, which is based in Jacksonville, Fla., is supported by donations and fundraisers, such as the upcoming soccer and those held at various communities around the country. She said national media coverage also contributes to raising funds for WWP, as well as awareness of the needs of injured service members returning home.

“The mission of Wounded Warrior Project is to help this group of men and women become the most successful and adjusted group of veterans this country has seen,” said Hay.

All levels of sponsorship and donations for the drawings are still welcome for this year’s soccer game, which will take place at Cox High School, 2425 Shorehaven Drive, Virginia Beach. A $100 sponsorship by March 1 will get the organization’s name on the T-shirt, along with being mentioned several times throughout the game over the loudspeakers.

Individuals or organizations interested in contributing can contact Mead on his cell phone at (757)418-0727 or by e-mail at Richard.mead@vbschools.com. For more information about the Wounded Warrior Project, visit their web site at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.