Sign up for email newsletters
Sign up for email newsletters Sweater With Embroidery
To help start a fledgling youth football league in south Clinton Township, organizers were able to secure the players, coaches and field, but had little money available for equipment such as shoulder pads.
The C Club is Clintondale Community Schools’ alumni club, which looks to raise money to help various athletic pursuits taking place at school. They raised several thousand dollars from a fundraiser and to purchase shoulder pads and pants for the up-and-coming Quinn Road Tarheels (QRT).
Dr. Jay Blazius, club president, said the group is committed to helping to support the local youth football program and the Tarheels because most of the players live in neighborhoods in the Clintondale district.
“We are trying to help our school develop a feeder system because the sports programs have dwindled there over time,” he said. “We felt like we wanted to support our kids in our community.”
The C Club has formed a partnership with the Quinn Road Tarheels as the youth team progresses.
Club members host fundraisers to raise money for the needs of Clintondale’s athletic roster that aren’t covered by the sports program. Over the years, they’ve donated money from everything to the weight room to sports banquets.
Proceeds go directly to the athletic programs at the school. The funds are dispersed by the C Club.
A key factor in the partnership was the interest showed in the program by Marlan Collier, a Clintondale alum and member of the Clintondale High School Athletic Hall of Fame. He played little league football as a toddler before he was a member of the Clintondale Dragons, where he was a running back. He finished his career as a cornerback for the Eastern Michigan University Eagles team.
Along with Lavette York and Reginald Irby, they worked to develop the Tarheels. They said it’s part of their duty to help prepare their youth “on and off the field for life’s journey.” The trio now has established the team as a nonprofit entity.
Collier — who works as a small business owner and offensive coordinator for Lake Shore High School’s football team — said they are off to a “great start.”
“As a kid growing up in the community, we had to ride our bikes or walk approximately six miles to play youth sports,” said Collier, who works as a small business owner and offensive coordinator . “Creating this youth organization was long overdue.”
About 70 kids ages 5-14 make up the Tarheels, who plan to be part of the Greater Metropolitan Youth Sports League. Most attend Parker Elementary School. They are separated by age, with boys ages 5-6 playing together, up through the teens.
Clintondale Athletic Director Bob Walmsley said the program eventually will expand to add basketball and baseball.
The C Club is donating the shoulder pads and pants but the attire will headquartered at a Clintondale school. If the Tarheels don’t work out, the attire returns to the club.
Pre Printed Embroidery Fabric “We want to support our QRT kids because they need a jump start,” Walmsley said.