Wolverines Teamwork Sets Record

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Thursday, November 22, 2007

     Aliso Niguel Wolverines Boys Basketball Head Coach, Keith Barnett requires the players at all levels in his program to volunteer their time to participate in community service. Not just play ball. He believes there is more to things than that.
     In 2005 incoming sophomores and second year basketball players Harry Meussner and Connor Crabtree provided the athletes at Aliso Niguel High School with a way to participate in an ongoing community service program. They created Sock from Jocks, an official Wolverine Boys Basketball community service program.
     Harry and Connor started with helping those in need by coordinating a clothing drive to collect coats and socks based on feedback from the Orange County Rescue Mission.
     Today Socks from Jocks offers a variety of community service opportunities for athletic and educational organizations and includes an annual Heart for Hunger Food Drive.
     The Wolverine Boys Basketball players were out in force recently as Meussner and Crabtree with teamwork from their moms and Booster Club board members; Jane Meussner and Tracy Browne helped coordinate.
     Several of the players' parents volunteered to drive groups of players to their home communities going door-to-door requesting nonperishable food donations.
     The food drive started with the many hours of preparation and planning.
     Then the actual canvassing and collecting of the food followed by a timed scavenger hunt held at the Albertson's in Laguna Niguel. The players work in teams and are given a list of clues to locate specific holiday food items.
     The players enjoy a pizza lunch (donated by Domino's Pizza) and help load Jane and Tracy's SUV's, who complete the event by delivering all of collected food to the Orange County Rescue Mission.
     Socks from Jocks collected and donated a record 2,200 pounds of food this year.