Here is a press release from John Jay wrestling coach Bill Swertfager (914-232-1700×103):
For the last three years, the John Jay wrestling team has been celebrating its top 20 “pinners” at the Kittle House in Chappaqua. Wrestlers from the Modified (7th and 8th graders), JV and varsity teams were honored Sunday night, but this year there was a twist.
Over last summer we were sitting down for dinner with the whole family and the subject of brain cancer came up and we were discussing all the people we knew that were affected by this terrible disease. My son Mark suggested that the wrestling team raise money for brain cancer, and after some thought, we decided Pinning, which is the ultimate victory in wrestling, was the way to go. “Pin for a Cure” was born.
At the beginning of the 2010-2011 season, the wrestling team was told about our new pinning mission and our chance to make a difference and it was unanimously embraced at every level, by both Coaches and Wrestlers. The team pledged $5 for every pin it got while competing, and went out and raised the money. Some of the parents donated money, collections were made at the tournaments and matches we hosted and the Section 1 Youth wrestling association donated $1 for every entrant into their tournaments.
The collective “team” had 371 pins this year; Varsity-163, JV-128, Modified-80. As fate would have it, it just so happened that one of the people we were discussing last summer was Amy Crabtree, who tragically died of brain cancer in November on 2009. John Crabtree is the owner of the Kittle House, the restaurant we have been going to for the past 3 years. Maddy Crabtree, John’s daughter had mentioned that her dad had just set up a foundation in Amy’s honor to fight brain tumors and brain cancer. So the team presented John a check for $1,855 at our Pin Dinner, as our 2011 donation to help the cause.
The John Jay wrestling team has every intention to continue to raise money every year and hopefully get other wrestling teams involved in this worthwhile cause.
2 Comments
Well done, Bill!
Coach “Bill” is a role model bar none!!! We are blessed to have him in Section I.