See article in the Loveland Beacon: https://lovelandbeacon.com/storm-fc-awards-scholarships-to-two-loveland-teens/
Each spring the Loveland Youth Soccer Association/FC Storm awards $500 scholarships to a graduating female and male student who either played or refereed soccer in one of LYSAs programs. Awardees are chosen from applicants who submit an essay about how being involved with youth soccer influenced their lives. This year scholarships were awarded to graduating Loveland High School seniors Leah Smith and Kees Ciric.
Leah played soccer with LYSA as young girl and again when she was in Middle School. She also had the opportunity play on the LHS JV team. More recently Leah turned in her soccer shoes for a referee’s whistle. Early mornings last fall found her on the field helping younger players find the same enjoyment in soccer that she’s had. Most Saturday mornings you’d find her on the field refereeing our young teams. Leah will be attending The Ohio State University this fall. She hopes to work with children and use soccer as a means to connect. Leah noted in her essay that ” …. soccer is the language we all understand and the beautiful game provides us with a way to form connections and community.”
Kees began playing soccer with LYSA when he was 4 years old. He recalls scoring the winning goal in a regional game leading to his team’s participation in the state tournament when he was 8. Kees moved on to club soccer to develop the skills that we got to witness as he helped lead LHS to an ECC championships in 2019 and 2020. Kees was chosen as captain of the 2020 LHS team and was chosen ECC Player of the Year and a 1st Team All-Conference Player in 2020. Kees plans to continue playing soccer at Whittenberg University this fall. Kees notes that “the fundamentals and passion for soccer that I learned as a LYSA player have helped me through my many years of club soccer in recent years as a referee for many Loveland Storm games.”
Congratulations to Leah and Kees and best wishes as they move on to college this fall. We are proud to have them as alumni of the Loveland Youth Soccer Association!