Santa Clara University

Team Players On and Off the Playing Field

When Kimee Goeggel was being recruited for the Santa Clara’s women’s basketball team, she was impressed with how the team played on the court. But one of the biggest selling points in her mind was how the Broncos acted outside the gym.

The current junior in environmental science remembers getting pictures of the team walking to raise money for breast cancer research. She recalls hearing stories about how the team volunteered at area schools.

“Community service is something that’s really important to the school as a whole. Just because we’re athletes doesn’t mean we can’t take part in that,” Goeggel says.

So in the off-season, she and her teammates juggle their schedules to work with local girls once a week through the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative. BAWSI is a non-profit organization that works with women and families to develop leadership skills through sports. “We get them moving. We help them set goals for themselves, just really promoting being active, being healthy, being powerful, confident girls,” she says.

The basketball team is not alone in their community service efforts, notes Dan Coonan, director of athletics and recreation. “At least three-quarters of our teams are doing some type of volunteering as a team. Then, completely separate from that, I would say as many as 40 percent of our athletes in general are doing something on their own,” he says. A few of the projects include raising money for the Make-AWish Foundation, building houses in Tijuana, rebuilding New Orleans, collecting food for Second Harvest Food Bank, donating shoes to Soles for Souls, and many other activities.

The athletic department does not mandate participation in community service, Coonan says, but proudly encourages and facilitates the athletes’ efforts however possible.

Goeggel herself wouldn’t miss the opportunity to help local girls. “They come out and support us at the games, so there’s no reason that we can’t go and support them.”

To get more information about team efforts or to suggest an activity for the Broncos, contact Donna Bolio at dbolio@scu.edu or call 554-5344.