This year, the field hockey team is garnering attention not just for their national ranking, but also for their extracurricular endeavors.
On Sept. 17, team alumni Melissa Burke and Amanda Roberts' (LA '11) successfully launched "Fan the Fire" to popularize Tufts athletics through recognition of the student body's common interest in community service. Less than two weeks later on Sept. 26, junior midfielder Rachel Gerhardt realized her own vision for her fellow Jumbos by bringing the New York?based organization Level the Field (LTF) to the Hill.
Founded in 2008 by Erica Woda, a New York City public school teacher and Columbia graduate, Level the Field works to empower inner?city youth by fostering partnerships with high?achieving collegiate student?athletes through both sport and dialogue. Woda's mission to erase financial barriers to the benefits of organized sports began after watching an unorganized game of soccer near a public school in New York City. After a long summer of laying the groundwork, Woda was able to launch her first partnership, between her alma mater and The Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School, on July 24, 2008. Gerhardt took notice.
"Erica and I both attended Bancroft School, a small private school in Worcester," Gerhardt said. "I heard about Level The Field when Erica was first starting it up in New York City; I have always had an interest in working with underprivileged communities and I have always had a passion for sport, so combining these two interests is something I always wanted to do. I followed LTF through the first couple of years and then thought it would be pretty amazing to bring something like this to Tufts."
Last December, Gerhardt began making her ideas a reality."I contacted Erica and we talked on the phone for about an hour discussing how I would go about launching an LTF Boston chapter at Tufts," she said. "She sent me off to do some research and talk to the athletic department to see if there would be any interest in getting involved. I met with [Assistant Athletic Director] Branwen [Smith?King] and also emailed Director of Athletics Bill Gehling and they officially approved the program and kind of gave me free range to do what I needed to in order to launch the program."
That free range launched into an extensive research project to find the partner middle school. Gerhardt compared Medford and Somerville public schools with LTF's established criteria and decided on East Somerville Community School (ESCS).
"In 2007, a fire displaced the students and teachers and forced them to relocate to two different campuses," Gerhardt said. "They are still in these buildings and their new school is not supposed to be finished by 2013. Erica and I contacted ESCS and met with them in March to explain LTF; in May they officially signed on as the second LTF partner school."
Hoping to launch before the heart of her own field hockey season in September, Gerhardt took charge of securing volunteers for LTF's three?tier service model. Through attendance at games, sports clinics and personalized classroom instruction, LTF volunteer teams work with their student groups to teach the values developed from participation in organized athletics: sportsmanship, teamwork, leadership and time management. Gerhardt knew that if she could get Tufts' coaches on board, athletes would follow suit. So she reached out to her own coach, Tina McDavitt, for help enlisting the athletic faculty. Seven teams jumped into the mix.
"We officially have seven athletic teams signed on to the program including field hockey, baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse and football," Gerhardt said. "These teams will run clinics in their off?season as well as volunteer in the classroom component of LTF. When these teams are in season, students from ESCS will watch their games."
With most of Tufts' biggest rosters involved, Gerhardt successfully sent 38 Jumbos to ESCS for September's opening ceremonies of Level the Field's second Boston chapter. Sixty?five sixth graders from the school ran relay races and played games with the athletes who would become their mentors over the next year. On Oct. 6, the classroom phase began as a core group of representatives traveled to ESCS for their first discussions with the students about the balance and focus it takes to reach college ?? and how achievable it is.
"Going into the classroom is such a great experience for us and the kids," said field hockey senior co?captain defender Taylor Dyer, who leads one class every Thursday at ESCS. "It's great to see them really engaging in the program's messages about the importance of teamwork, time management, and sportsmanship beyond all the fun we have outside the classroom."
The men's and women's basketball teams kicked off the series of fall clinics for the students on Sept. 23, as they welcomed the sixth graders onto their court. On Oct. 8, the baseball team ?? always on the forefront of active citizenship ?? held the second.
"Our team's LTF clinic was just a great experience," senior co?captain third baseman Sam Sager said. "We had the chance to not only show the kids some skills, but also just hang out and get to know them. Our team recognizes how fortunate we are and welcome the chance to give back to the community. All of these experiences have been as rewarding and beneficial for us as for the kids."
Oct. 29 will mark the beginning of the intercollegiate games portion of the structured partnership as the football team will welcome the participating students to their game against Amherst. After the lacrosse teams' Nov. 5 clinic, the football team will host the group a week later for their game with Middlebury.
So far, Level the Field is proving a huge success for both Tufts' teams and their sixth grade students, but Gerhardt hopes this fall's full slate of activities will only blossom into a department?wide movement in the winter and spring seasons.
"Our next steps include having more Tufts teams sign on to participate and to especially get more volunteers working with the students in the classroom," she said. "For the first session of LTF this is great, but I am definitely looking forward to increasing the number because the students love seeing the athletes come work with them at the school. Because this is our pilot year, we are only working with the students in the sixth grade class, however, as long as all goes well, we will increase to sixth and seventh graders next year, and then eventually to eighth graders as well."
Ultimately, Woda and Gerhardt hope to build the Boston chapter into a multi?school network, matching new universities with new middle and high schools so that team relationships can be maintained throughout students' path to college. If the program continues to gain momentum with the athletes' dedication and Gerhardt's leadership, that goal seems attainable.
"Tufts athletes are truly embracing this program," Gerhardt said. "The enthusiasm they have showed so far is truly inspiring and encouraging."
