|
Just
when you thought Judo was only for fancy
foot action...
Clint
Gets His Kicks By Helping Kids
By
Paul D. Rosevear
December/January 2003
The
CollegeBound Network NewsClick -- Betcha'
thought all TIGER WOODS knew how to do was
a swing a golf club, right? Think again.
As a matter of fact, the 'Talented T' has
started a program called Start Something,
which helps young people (like you!) set
goals for themselves, then begin to take
steps toward making those dreams come true.
By doing so, they're maximizing their potential
and learning more about their personalities
as well. To top it off, Start Something
offers scholarship money to the students
who kick the most butt, which is what Clint
Dake, a freshman at University of Oklahoma,
Tulsa, OK, did -- literally.
Clint,
a judo all-star whose dream is to take his
martial arts skills to the top, is all for
the program. "Start
Something allowed me to work toward the
thing that I truly want to accomplish more
than anything, which is competing in the
Olympics," he says.
Clint
discovered Start Something while trying
to find ways to raise money for his judo
club, the U.S.A. All-Stars. "The team
needed to raise money for competitions [abroad],"
he explains. "Lots of competitions
take place in Japan, and the plane tickets
are expensive, in addition to entry fees,
meals, and uniforms."
When
Clint and his teammates realized they could
score some cash doing what they do best,
they jump-kicked at the chance. "We
had to come up with our own project idea
and a goal we wanted to accomplish,"
he says. "We decided to host a competition
for some of the younger kids in our judo
club."
It
wasn't all fun and games, though. "Start
Something sent us a packet with a bunch
of different essays and questions we had
to answer in written form," Clint recalls.
"That was the hardest part for me because
I had difficulty transcribing my thoughts
into words." So the pressure was on
for Clint and his compadres. Then again,
he's used to breaking out in a sweat!
Not
only would the kids competition be a way
for Clint to enter the contest, it would
also give the younger judo students a chance
to see what a real competition was like.
The team had to report all of their progress
to Start Something as they planned for the
event, and when
the competition day arrived, everything
went smoothly.
The
biggest reward? When Start Something awarded
Clint and each of his teammates $2,250 in
scholarship money for their participation.
"We're all going to put the money toward
judo lessons," he cheers. |
