Any parent who has purchased children’s sports gear knows how costly that can be. In fact, based on figures she has seen, McCracken County High School mom Catherine Sivills says that families spend anywhere between $500 to $700 per child each year buying the basic gear a student needs to play one sport.
While athletic booster organizations and even some coaches do their best to help offset the costs for families with limited resources, those budgets are quickly depleted when items such as cleats cost over $100 a pair.
Catherine’s son, Will Sivills, was a high school sophomore at Calloway County High School when he and his family began discussing this problem.
“We were just talking one day about how much sports gear we had sitting in our garage. We talked about how some kids could use that. We had so many shoes, bats, helmets and gloves that we didn’t use any more, and then we’d go to a baseball practice and a kid didn’t even have a baseball glove. That just makes you feel like you could give away the stuff you didn’t need any more,” Will said.
Those conversations led to Will and his family organizing Game Ready, an initiative run through Calloway County Schools’ family resource centers, which invited people to donate gently used sports gear to be given to athletes of all ages who demonstrated financial need. The items were collected at Murray’s “Make a Difference” event and stored in a central location where coaches could access the equipment for students who needed it.
The program has been successful in Murray and has proven to be a tool to help engage high-risk students in athletic programs.
“Students being involved in after school activities is extremely important, especially for students with needs who don’t have a strong home life,” Morgan Carman, coordinator for Murray Family Resource Youth Service Center says. “We try to get students involved in these activities so that they have the same opportunities of other students and to provide them with positive role models.”
Will is now a high school senior at McCracken County High School. He wants to bring Game Ready to Paducah. So he is now working with McCracken County Schools’ Youth Services Center director, Stacy Thomas, to try to coordinate a student-led program to benefit athletes in the McCracken County School District.
“Sports are an integral part of the high school experience for most students,” Stacy says. “Having a program like this will not only help families and offer some financial relief, but it could also provide a sense of confidence that will increase the self-esteem of the student who receives the equipment.”
Will’s parents have worked to instill compassion and a generous spirit in each of their children. They are proud of the hard work Will has invested in this project.
“We tried to teach our kids that you always have to be thankful for what you have, and when you have a little extra, notice other people who may not,” Catherine says.
The first Paducah donation drop off event is still being planned. Will hopes that all Paducah schools will take the initiative to coordinate a program like this for their students. For more information about Game Ready, call or send a text to 270.978.6792, or e-mail wsivills@gmail.com.
