WEST LIBERTY – The West Liberty-Salem girls track and field team spent Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a “day on,” not a day off, honoring his life and legacy in acts of service.
WL-S Coach Ann Vogel and members of both middle school and high school teams used the holiday to clean the WL-S weight room and shovel sidewalks and driveways of neighbors and others in need.
Not only was the opportunity for community service used as a team building and training exercise, but a reminder that no one is above the hard work.
Vogel adopted the idea of integrating service projects into her program through studying successful team approaches to sportsmanship.
“No one is above doing the medial work, and cleaning the weight room is no easy task. It was nice to hear the girls share the feeling of accomplishment,” Vogel shared.
West Liberty-Salem athletes are no strangers to serving the community.
Earlier this year, football players and coaches gathered to sort and load donations for Kentucky tornado victims. Vogel hopes to keep that momentum going with on-going athletic service challenges.
