As They Prepare for Final Four, Hawks Take Time to Give Back with NCAA
It wasn鈥檛 game day. It wasn鈥檛 even practice. But 射精视频 senior soccer midfielder Salim Gumati was sweating.
Gumati had just got done running drills with students from Longfellow Elementary School, located in the Kansas City neighborhood that is its namesake.
On Wednesday, the Hawks took part in an NCAA community engagement event ahead of their appearance Thursday in Swope Park. They played games 鈥斅爏ome improvised 鈥 in the school鈥檚 gymnasium with the students before signing some autographs and heading up to the classrooms to talk to them about everything from school to what their Thanksgiving was like to, of course, what sports they play and watch.
Gumati, now in his fourth year playing for the Hawks under head coach Tony Tocco, said he had been looking forward to the opportunity.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not just athletes, we鈥檙e student-athletes,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nd part of that is always learning, helping out and striving to become a better person overall.鈥
Hayden Sparrow, another senior who plays wing back, said the community engagement project is also a chance to give back to the community of which he and his teammates are a part right before they play in the
At 5 p.m. Thursday, the Hawks will once again be the home team at Swope Park Soccer Village in Kansas City as they take on Lynn University of Miami, Florida, in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II tournament, their fourth Final Four appearance in five years. Last year, the Hawks dropped a heartbreaking semifinal match to the University of Charleston. But Jake Peters, a senior midfielder, said he thinks that experience has given the team something extra.
鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely more determined,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of senior leadership, too, which a lot of teams might not have.鈥
All the time in between winning the Super Region 2 championship game in West Virginia on Nov. 18, Sparrow said, helped in building that determination as they run drills and watch film to prepare for Lynn.
鈥淓veryone was really excited the first day after getting back鈥 from West Virginia, he said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檝e all gotten a lot more focused during practice since then.鈥
The excitement and nerves will no doubt ramp back up before Thursday鈥檚 game. And in that way, junior forward Umoh Utoh said the community engagement event was a great way to both give back to the city they live and reset their own perspective.
鈥淚t reminds us to just have fun,鈥 he said. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e preparing, everything is strict and so serious, but you come out here and be with the kids and it鈥檚 so fun.鈥
As for the match Thursday, they鈥檒l need almost every tool at their disposal 鈥 Peters said at this point in the tournament, few teams are familiar and every team is dangerous. Sparrow borrows a phrase from Tocco that the team has internalized 鈥 鈥渇ear no one, respect everyone.鈥 And there鈥檚 no doubt, Peters said, that those words 鈥斅燼nd the man who said them 鈥 are also driving this team.
鈥淓verybody鈥檚 really bought in to what we鈥檙e doing and everybody鈥檚 trying to win something big for Tocco, too,鈥 he said.
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