May 11, 2010 8:21:26 AM

Four Baldwin-Wallace soccer student-athletes have started a small initiative with the large goal of providing soccer balls to the earthquake-stricken children in Haiti.

Seniors Nate Smith, Russ Mika, Jamie Shipley and Zac Gaydosh kicked off "Soccer Balls 4 Haiti" in January with a goal of collecting at least 250 new or used soccer balls. As of mid-April, the foursome had amassed more than 1,300.

Smith said the mother of a teammate came up with the idea.

"She pointed to our love of the game and the importance of soccer in our lives as motivation for the project," he said. "She challenged us to collect just 50 soccer balls and that's how we got started."

The group partnered with the Baldwin-Wallace chapter of SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) and got the ball rolling during the final week of January. SIFE is a nonprofit organization that allows college students to apply their education in community-outreach programs.

"Once we saw the number of soccer balls coming in, we knew that we would easily surpass 250," Mika said. "We hope to use the soccer balls as an outlet for the kids of Haiti to take their minds off of the devastation around them. Just one ball can impact the lives of 10 kids. If we meet our goal of 250, then we would have helped in the healing process for 2,500 kids."

Try 13,000.

Trinity's pitch: Construction will begin this month on the Timothy "Tito" Isom Memorial Media Center at the Trinity (Texas) soccer field. The facility will include a press box, restrooms for teams and officials, and permanent team dugouts.

The facility is expected to be completed in time for the soccer seasons. It is named for the late "Tito" Isom, a Trinity soccer standout from 1994-98. He died in September 2000 while working in Chicago.

Further renovations include increased permanent seating for spectators, and improvements to Meadows Pavilion that will include additional restrooms.

In addition, a Phase II plan is in the works for the Paul McGinlay Soccer Complex, which will include four locker rooms, an auxiliary training room and a team meeting room. The complex is named for current Trinity men's coach Paul McGinlay, who has guided the Tigers for 19 years.

Training the trainers: More than 100 team physicians, athletic trainers and students in athletic training programs at Ohio Athletic Conference schools attended the league's Sports Health Symposium on April 11 at Capital University.

Among the 119 total attendees were 35 certified athletic trainers and 75 students for academic athletic training programs. The symposium was conducted in conjunction with an NCAA conference grant.

"We are unique in that eight of our 10 members sponsor student training programs in their academic curriculums," said OAC Commissioner Tim Gleason. "This was an outstanding way to utilize our conference grant funds. Our athletic trainers were able to receive hours of continuing-education units."

John Bergfeld, the team physician at Baldwin-Wallace, said the symposium is a natural fit for the OAC.

"The OAC is a special conference in that it serves so many young people who are studying to join the athletic training profession," he said.

Tie a white ribbon…: The Wheaton (Massachusetts) baseball team hosted its third annual White Ribbon Campaign game May 1 against Brandeis. The WRC is a collaboration of men working to end violence against women and children.

Wheaton and Brandeis players donned blue wristbands depicting an image of a white ribbon in recognition of April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The white ribbon symbolizes a man's pledge to never commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women and children. The teams also signed a poster-sized pledge sheet that was prominently displayed on the back of the Wheaton dugout.

Additionally, Wheaton donated proceeds from wristband sales and concessions to the New Hope Shelter in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

The WRC is recognized in over 55 countries with campaigns led by men and women, even though the focus is on educating men and boys. It began in 1991 when a handful of men in Canada decided they had a responsibility to urge men to speak out about violence against women and children. Wearing a white ribbon symbolizes opposition to violence against women and children.

Tie a pink ribbon…: Edgewood College joined forces with the Breast Cancer Recovery Foundation of Madison, Wisconsin, for a "Strike Out Cancer" Awareness Day on May 9 at Stampfl Field.

Edgewood players wore pink inserts in their shoes for the doubleheader against Lakeland College, and survivor banners were placed around the park. The game also featured bases with a pink ribbon logo on top.

Players also honored Matt Wright, who was an Eagle baseball recruit two years ago but was diagnosed with testicular cancer shortly after. He could not attend Edgewood in 2008-09 as he underwent chemotherapy. He wanted to enter school the following year, but he died that fall. Many of the Edgewood players hail from near Wright's hometown and got to know him well during the recruiting process.

The student-athletes established this day as a way to remember Wright and others affected by cancer.