By RICHIE HALL
This weekend marks an important milestone for the Westfield boys soccer team.
For the 10th consecutive year, the team is hosting the Shamrock Charity Challenge. Westfield hosts a number of teams from across Indiana and beyond in a three-day tournament, with the proceeds to benefit Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent.
Former Shamrocks coach Myron Vaughn started the Charity Challenge back in 2009. Although he resigned from coaching the team a couple seasons ago, Vaughn still serves as director of the Charity Challenge. Vaughn said he wanted to make sure the team was doing something charitable, and giving back to the hospital was the perfect thing.
“The thought of being able to have it, include a bit of soccer as well, was a great opportunity, and the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital was a great place to be able to give back, to help the kids and the people that are helping the kids there, which are some of the best people in the world,” said Vaughn.
Since the Charity Challenge began, the Shamrocks have raised around $100,000. Vaughn said that being able to give back and help was always the goal, but even he was surprised by how much the event was able to give, especially in the first year.
“We never knew how much we were going to be able to do, but that first year, being able to present a $10,000 check was above and beyond my expectations, and it just pushed us on each year to keep raising more and more money, and we’ve been able to do that,” said Vaughn.
In fact, the Shamrock Charity Challenge now has its own room at the hospital. Vaughn called getting to unveil the room “an absolute honor and privilege,” noting that the team got to help design the room.
“We get to go visit it and see the kids and see the room that we made and see the kids that are staying in the room and get to see a direct impact of all the money that all these teams raise,” said Vaughn. “So the point of the tournament has evolved over time. It was always to help the hospital, but we get so much more out of each year and so many little things that go into it that it just keeps getting better and better.”
This year, Westfield is hosting seven other teams, making the Charity Challenge an eight-team event. (There were supposed to be nine teams, but a team from Ohio had to cancel at the last minute.) In addition to the Shamrocks, soccer teams from Carmel, Guerin Catholic, Center Grove, Cardinal Ritter, Franklin Community are participating. Two teams from Ohio are there as well: Finneytown (from the Cincinnati area) and Bay High (from the Cleveland area).
Westfield is coached by Kevin Scanlon, who was the Shamrock coach for 11 years before Vaughn took over; Vaughn was an assistant with Scanlon for about five years. When Vaughn resigned last season, Scanlon came back, and wanted to keep the Charity Challenge going.
“It’s great to have a soccer challenge, but when the boys go visit, when the seniors went to go visit the hospital, you don’t really realize the good that it’s doing until you see it up close,” said Scanlon. “So they need to experience that.”
The Charity Challenge runs all day today, with games starting at 8 a.m. Vaughn was quick to point out that while he is the director, he also has a number of assistants, including Scanlon, Jill Lancaster and Michelle Degnan.
The schedule for today is as follows:
8 a.m.: Westfield vs. Center Grove
9:30 a.m.: Franklin vs. Guerin Catholic
11 a.m.: Bay vs. Guerin Catholic
12:30 p.m.: Finneytown vs. Carmel
2 p.m.: Cardinal Ritter vs. Center Grove
3:30 p.m.: Westfield vs. Bay
5 p.m.: Finneytown vs. Guerin Catholic
6:30 p.m.: Carmel vs. Franklin
8 p.m.: Cardinal Ritter vs. Franklin
Teams will then play again on Sunday, with results from Friday and Saturday factoring into what place they will play for and which opponent they will face.
Westfield soccer player Jordan Donsky (left) and alumnus Evan Heirbrandt play one-on-one during a practice drill after the Shamrocks’ first game of the Shamrock Charity Challenge Friday. Westfield is hosting the Charity Challenge for the 10th consecutive year; the event has raised around $100,000 for Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent. (Richie Hall)