Making an iMPACT

Local athletes give back to youth

SHIPROCK

Zander Dale knows what it is like to be a Navajo kid who likes to dream.

An avid football player, wrestler, and baseball player for Shiprock High School who graduated this past spring, Dale was once like many of the kids who participated in the iMPACT Youth Sports and Wellness Camp that started Monday and runs though tomorrow.

His dream to play college baseball came true last year when he signed with Valley City State University in North Dakota. He took part in the camp to help others make their dreams come true.

“I’m just trying to tell these kids about preparing for college and doing what you want to do,” he said. “We’re here from Shiprock. I want to show these kids that wherever they’re from they can do pretty much whatever they dream of.”

Dale was one of a handful of local past and current high school student athletes who conducted some of the sports instruction at the camp as well as gave presentations to participants.

Most of the instruction for all sports at the camp was conducted by people like Dale, in an effort to fulfill the vision set by iMPACT coordinators like Cynthia Lee. iMPACT is an organization established by local ministries that put together the camps free to the community.

Lee, who is a co-coordinator for iMPACT, said the organization hoped to get local athletes to share their knowledge with the participants because using the community to share with the children of the future is what the organization is all about.

She said the organization reached out to Shiprock athletes, especially the girls and boys basketball teams.

“They see these athletes progress, like this year, the Lady Chieftains took the state championships, so all these little kids aspire to be like them,” Lee said. “We have our champion Lady Chieftains here in the house. We have our boys district champions here in the house. And these kids are just in awe to see these talented high school players, see them teaching them so they show up. It’s just amazing what these talented local athletes can do for our own community.”

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