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Team-Up is thrilled to announce the four winners of the first ever Team-Up All-Star Awards. The awards recognize exceptional coaches and program staff who partner with Team-Up to bring high-quality sports and physical arts programs to Bay Area youth in low-income neighborhoods.
The four recipients will be honored on May 10th at the Team-Up All-Star Celebration. Each winner receives $500 for their outstanding dedication to young people. The awards were created by Team-Up staff who wished to honor outstanding individuals in partner organizations who help children grow socially, emotionally and physically through their good work.
Here are the 2008 Team-Up All-Stars:
Rafael Avendano, Boys and Girls Clubs of San Leandro/Ashland
Rafael Avendano is the coordinator of the Ashland Neighborhood Sports Initiative, a Team-Up project led by the Boys and Girls Club of San Leandro. Rafael brings enthusiasm, workmanship, charisma and passion to his work of creating quality sports programs that transform kids’ lives. Rafael’s focus is always on the kids: he has organized outside events including a trip to the UC Berkeley campus on Cal Sports Day and Warriors and SaberCats games that expose kids to new things. His passion for sports and his unique teaching ability has helped him inspire kids to find the confidence to try things they’ve never done before. Rafael’s special ability to connect with youth through sports makes him a Team-Up All-Star.
Rahul Lagura, East Oakland Boxing Association
Rahul Lagura is the Athletic Director at East Oakland Boxing Association, a 20+ year-old organization in the heart of East Oakland. Rahul is a kind and gentle soul who engages even the most hardened youth and helps to instill in them a sense of discipline and respect for self and others through the art of boxing. He focuses youth to develop their character, sportsmanship and self-discipline. Rahul recently began an effort to create a more holistic curriculum that addresses young people's emotional and social development. He has also started offering offsite classes at a local library in an effort to reach more young people. As he brings out the “CHAMP” in each youth, Rahul Lagura is truly a Team-Up All-Star.
Brittany Murlas, Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program (BORP)
Brittany Murlas first came to BORP as a Team-Up volunteer in the Fall of 2005 and stepped enthusiastically into her role as an assistant coach with the wheelchair basketball program. She helps coach both the Prep and Varsity teams and she has also organized numerous events, including the “Revolution” cycling ride in Sonoma and the annual “Roll ‘n Shoot” event (in which able-bodied people are invited to “sit down” and play wheelchair basketball). Brittany has been especially supportive of young female athletes at BORP who now turn to her for advice on school, transitioning to college and other important issues. Brittany has also stepped up in the past year to help recruit new participants, which requires considerable time and effort within the world of wheelchair sports. Brittany is a Team-Up All-Star because of her unmatched dedication and the positive influence she has on the girls at BORP.
Márcia Treidler, ABADÁ Capoeira
Márcia Treidler is the founder and Artistic Director of ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco. She is one of the top 10 capoeiristas of the 40,000 international ABADÁ-Capoeira members and the first female student of Mestre Camisa to be awarded the title of "Mestranda", a title shared with some of the world's top practitioners. Márcia has taken her tremendous skill and knowledge of the art form of Capoeira and used it to empower disadvantaged children and youth. The challenging, dynamic classes that Mestranda Márcia offers at ABADÁ and in local schools and youth facilities foster physical activity, skill building and youth involvement. Mestranda Márcia is a Team-Up All-Star because through her passion and skill in a unique sport, she has created a community that engages and inspires thousands of kids.
Criteria for eligibility include: serves low-income youth, embodies Team-Up’s Building Blocks for quality youth sports, works or volunteers for an agency that is a current or former Team-Up grantee, training recipient and/or Coaching Corps participant. An Awards Selection Committee of Team-Up staff and community partners determined the winners from 24 nominees. The Committee made every effort to distribute the awards to individuals who serve different age groups, geographic areas and diverse populations of young people.
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