Within the Oakville High School walls, competition is prevalent amongst many athletes and participants of the Amad Cup. The Amad Cup is a dodgeball tournament raising money for the St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Many people are participating for their final time, and they want to make this one count.
“We like to raise the money, and the goal is to raise money for charity, but a lot of that is just we want to get everyone back together right at the end of the year,” Ryan Black (12) said. “… [We want to] just have a good time, and end the year on a real high note.”
Not only is the Amad Cup something that brings students and staff together, but as Black mentioned, it is able to raise money for the St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
“It’s just that having those connections over there can make the money easier to donate so we don’t have to jump through a bunch of hoops with that,” Black said.
Aside from donations and raising money, the Amad Cup participants are also doing this as a part of their competitive nature. Competing in this tournament has been significant to many of these players, and so they have had to make changes that they deem necessary.
“We came in second place last year, so we’ve got a chip on our shoulder this year,” Jack Werkowitch (12) said, “…but I think we’ve made the roster acquisitions we need and I think we’ll be better this year.”
Along with wanting to improve this year in roster changes, some teams have also had teams in mind that they specifically want to defeat and have become rivals with.
“Ekin Elite is our biggest competition — it has been this whole year,” Werkowitch said. “Last year it was Team Umizoomi with the seniors, but now they’re all graduated and gone, so now it’s Ekin Elite because they’ve stepped up and become our biggest rival.”
In addition to the involvement of the students, teachers and coaches are also involved in their own way and on their own team. One of the coaches at OHS participated last year and is participating again this year with hopes for a comeback.
“My role is to be the energizer bunny since a lot of these guys are much more seasoned, so being a youngin’ means I have to boost the energy for those old men out there,” coach Blake Johnson said.
The Amad Cup has many different aspects to it and is competitive in nature, those behind the event feel that it is overall a positive experience.
“[The dodgeball tournament] brings everybody together,” Johnson said. “You can have fun but also have it benefit something that’s greater than what you are.”
