Athletes and coaches excited about Fuel the Dream fundraiser to support 2008 Olympic wrestlers and their families
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by Fuel The
USA Wrestling, the National Governing Body (NGB) for amateur wrestling, officially kicked off the formation of a landmark fundraising iniative which will give financial support to the families of athletes competing in Beijing for this summer's Olympics.
"Fuel The Dream" is believed to be the most extensive fundraising effort to support families of Olympic athletes in the United States by an NGB, and will give those 18 who make the U.S. Olympic Team for Wrestling an additional emotional boost for the Games. Anybody can support the U.S. athletes directly by visiting www.FuelTheDream.org
A press conference was hosted at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Tuesday afternoon, featuring Olympic hopeful athletes, Olympic coaches and other dignitaries. All were very excited about the program.
Representing athletes were U.S. Nationals freestyle runners-up Steve Mocco and Nik Fekete, both who wrestle for the New York Athletic Club. Both are natives of New Jersey, and returned to their home states from their training sites to talk about the Fuel the Dream program.
Mocco, a native of North Bergen, N.J., won four Prep National titles competing for St. Benedicts Prep and Blair Academy. He went on to win NCAA titles for Iowa and Oklahoma State, and is currently training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Fekete, a native of Cranford, N.J., was a three-time state placewinner at Cranford High School. He was a NCAA All-American at Michigan State, and is currently training full-time in Iowa City, Iowa.
"It would mean the world," said Mocco of the support from the Fuel the Dream program. "We wrestle in a lot of different places throughout the year, in different countries and our families are not there. We're there will people who don't speak our language and it's tough, so to have their support in my corner would really mean the world to me personally, knowing the sacrifices they made. I'm sure all the other athletes feel the same way. We really love this sport and I'm really grateful for opportunities like this where I can help the sport through "Fuel the Dream."
The program, which will begin immediately, will assist families with expenses involved in seeing the athletes represent the USA in Beijing. A full 50% of each donation will go, without any reductions, to the individuals who have qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team by winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Las Vegas, Nev., June 13-15 at the Thomas & Mack Center. The other 50% goes to help train athletes that will be on future World and Olympic Teams.
Also attending the press conference were 2008 U.S. Olympic Freestyle Team coach Lee Kemp, along with 2000 Olympic Freestyle Team coach John Smith. Both were legendary champions as freestyle wrestlers. Kemp won three World gold medals and made the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. Smith won two Olympic gold medals and four World titles, the most of any American wrestler. Both coaches have high expectations for the U.S. team performance in Beijing.
"In each of the Games, we always have some surprises, and by that I mean we have some athletes who make the team that nobody thought would make the team," said Kemp. "We've got some wrestlers in all the styles - freestyle and Greco Roman - that have experience with international competition, but that's the beauty of our selection process; it keeps everybody in the game until the end. From the freestyle end, our chances are really good, right down our lineup. We've got experienced competitors. If things happen the way I think they will, we'll have a really strong team."
"Like Lee (Kemp), I'm only familiar with the freestyle team, but I've got a big stake in it. I really feel good about this year's freestyle team," said Smith.
Both coaches indicated that the financial support to assist the athletes in bringing their families to the Olympics will help them to perform at their highest level in Beijing.
A special "Fuel the Dream" event will be held on June 21, in part sponsored by the Hanson family, the owners of the Bernards Inn in Bernardsville, N.J. The event will bring the 2008 Olympic Wrestling Teams for a special send off to Beijing.
Also attending the formal announcement of the program was USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. He noted that there has been an excitement among the wrestling athletes about this program which directly affects their families.
"The fact that we have two athletes that are probably in the most significant time in their training for the most significant event of their lives to take time and come out here to support this effort, I think the buzz has been really positive," said Bender. "It's refreshing to see the athletes step up in terms of recognizing that there are people trying to help them. I think the feedback has been really positive."
For more information and to donate for the program, visit:
www.FuelTheDream.org
"Fuel The Dream" is believed to be the most extensive fundraising effort to support families of Olympic athletes in the United States by an NGB, and will give those 18 who make the U.S. Olympic Team for Wrestling an additional emotional boost for the Games. Anybody can support the U.S. athletes directly by visiting www.FuelTheDream.org
A press conference was hosted at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Tuesday afternoon, featuring Olympic hopeful athletes, Olympic coaches and other dignitaries. All were very excited about the program.
Representing athletes were U.S. Nationals freestyle runners-up Steve Mocco and Nik Fekete, both who wrestle for the New York Athletic Club. Both are natives of New Jersey, and returned to their home states from their training sites to talk about the Fuel the Dream program.
Mocco, a native of North Bergen, N.J., won four Prep National titles competing for St. Benedicts Prep and Blair Academy. He went on to win NCAA titles for Iowa and Oklahoma State, and is currently training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Fekete, a native of Cranford, N.J., was a three-time state placewinner at Cranford High School. He was a NCAA All-American at Michigan State, and is currently training full-time in Iowa City, Iowa.
"It would mean the world," said Mocco of the support from the Fuel the Dream program. "We wrestle in a lot of different places throughout the year, in different countries and our families are not there. We're there will people who don't speak our language and it's tough, so to have their support in my corner would really mean the world to me personally, knowing the sacrifices they made. I'm sure all the other athletes feel the same way. We really love this sport and I'm really grateful for opportunities like this where I can help the sport through "Fuel the Dream."
The program, which will begin immediately, will assist families with expenses involved in seeing the athletes represent the USA in Beijing. A full 50% of each donation will go, without any reductions, to the individuals who have qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team by winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Las Vegas, Nev., June 13-15 at the Thomas & Mack Center. The other 50% goes to help train athletes that will be on future World and Olympic Teams.
Also attending the press conference were 2008 U.S. Olympic Freestyle Team coach Lee Kemp, along with 2000 Olympic Freestyle Team coach John Smith. Both were legendary champions as freestyle wrestlers. Kemp won three World gold medals and made the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. Smith won two Olympic gold medals and four World titles, the most of any American wrestler. Both coaches have high expectations for the U.S. team performance in Beijing.
"In each of the Games, we always have some surprises, and by that I mean we have some athletes who make the team that nobody thought would make the team," said Kemp. "We've got some wrestlers in all the styles - freestyle and Greco Roman - that have experience with international competition, but that's the beauty of our selection process; it keeps everybody in the game until the end. From the freestyle end, our chances are really good, right down our lineup. We've got experienced competitors. If things happen the way I think they will, we'll have a really strong team."
"Like Lee (Kemp), I'm only familiar with the freestyle team, but I've got a big stake in it. I really feel good about this year's freestyle team," said Smith.
Both coaches indicated that the financial support to assist the athletes in bringing their families to the Olympics will help them to perform at their highest level in Beijing.
A special "Fuel the Dream" event will be held on June 21, in part sponsored by the Hanson family, the owners of the Bernards Inn in Bernardsville, N.J. The event will bring the 2008 Olympic Wrestling Teams for a special send off to Beijing.
Also attending the formal announcement of the program was USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. He noted that there has been an excitement among the wrestling athletes about this program which directly affects their families.
"The fact that we have two athletes that are probably in the most significant time in their training for the most significant event of their lives to take time and come out here to support this effort, I think the buzz has been really positive," said Bender. "It's refreshing to see the athletes step up in terms of recognizing that there are people trying to help them. I think the feedback has been really positive."
For more information and to donate for the program, visit:
www.FuelTheDream.org
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