DC Scores Honors Coaches/Volunteers of Area Poet-Athletes

At an awards ceremony and fundraiser held at Longview Gallery on Tuesday night, DC SCORES— along with an audience that included several DC council members and DC United’s own Ben Olsen — honored the over one hundred teachers and volunteers that serve as soccer and writing coaches in its after-school program. The organization combines poetry, community service and soccer to offer over 1400 DC students at 42 schools a sense of community, and the opportunity for both artistic and physical expression.

Special recognition went to teachers and coaches John Guzman of Bancroft Elementary School and Leticia Lacomba of Marie Reed Elementary School for “Coaching Commitment;” to Demetria Clark of Davis Elementary School for “Coaching Excellence;” and to the Davis Elementary School and Seaton Elementary School DC SCORES staff for teamwork.

“DC SCORES is the best organization I’ve ever worked for,” said Clark, “And it trickles down from the top to the bottom.”

The event featured slam-poetry performances by two DC Scores “poet-athletes,” third-grader Kastenny Contreras of Marie Reed Elementary School, and DeAndre Walters, a fifth-grader at Perry Street Prep.

“[Poetry] lets me inspire myself without getting angry or making assumptions,” Walters later said.