A formal evening set on the stage of the iconic Genesee Theatre in Waukegan was the site of the Heart of the City organization’s third-annual Soccer to Success gala Saturday.
With more than 250 in attendance, the event generated a total of $132,000, which exceeded the organization’s goal, executive director Rena Lee said.
The theme for the gathering was girls and women in sports, and Ella Masar, a retired professional soccer player and assistant coach for the Chicago Red Stars, delivered the keynote speech — a passionate telling of some of the struggles and challenges she’s had to overcome to get where she is today.
Masar spent her childhood in Urbana, with parents who dealt with alcoholism. She said her mother also suffered from bipolar disorder, and as a teenager she had no tools to deal with that environment.
“I didn’t have HOTC, as many of you do today,” she said.
More and more, communities in which HOTC works are realizing the organization is not only a sports club, but much more, Lee said.
“We’re really a youth development organization focused on building those life skills,” she said. “I think people are understanding the power of sports, and how it’s such a great factor to launch them to that future success they dream of.”
Photos were displayed on screens during Masar’s speech of her as a child and an athlete. Throughout her decade-long playing career, Masar’s been alongside star names, such as Abby Wambach, Marta Vieira de Silva and Megan Rapinoe.
As she learned about HOTC, she said she really connected with its mission.
“What stood out to me was their values — determination, dedication, desire and discipline,” Masar said. “These four words alone were something I lived by from the moment I started playing this beautiful game till now.”
During another part of the evening, Lee told guests that at the end-of-season celebration, young, female athletes were asked to reflect on how they play with heart and to sum that up in a word. “Determined,” “courageous,” “strong” and “bold,” were some of the descriptions.
Lee said her word would be “inspired,” as she witnessed, “young women train hard and pour their soul into a game,” or take their first step on a college campus.
“They’re just setting off on their own journeys, and I can’t wait to find out what they accomplish,” she said.
Two of those athletes already have much to be proud of as they were presented with an award. Zion resident Angelina Diaz was recognized as the female athlete of the year. Waukegan resident Robert Leszek Lach, who will be attending a university in Rome, Italy in the fall on an academic scholarship, was named male athlete of the year.
Both were said to have shown heart and talent, and promoted those core values HOTC is founded upon and tries to instill in all of its families. With programming provided to the county’s most vulnerable communities, HOTC’s afterschool satellite programs are now in North Chicago, Gurnee and Highwood.
Officials said the expansion to more communities is a plan for the near future.
“We are breaking down those barriers that lead girls to drop out of sports,” Lee said.
One way the team is doing that is through a concerted effort to create equity, which seems to be paying off as the group is on track to have a 45% increase in the number of girls on teams this year, Lee said, adding that by the end of next year close to 400 girls ages 6-19 will be playing.
The organization also subsidizes 90% of the total cost of the program, and has payment plans and scholarships for players. Funds raised from the gala — by way of attendance, raffles and an auction — help HOTC continue to provide those financial opportunities for families of players.
Another barrier many spoke about is a social stigma of girls in sports, and a lack of positive role models. Through workshops, field trips and by providing an uplifting team culture led by female coaches, the HOTC team is tackling those roadblocks.
Many high school girls in the program coach younger athletes, HOTC board president David Motley said.
One of the youth-athlete graduates who picked up coaching experience at HOTC is Adamariss Chavez, who is on her way to study nursing at Triton College in River Grove, and was thrilled with the send-off the event provided her and her fellow athlete grads.
“This was awesome because we got to interact with people from the community who support the program,” Chavez said.
She added that Masar’s speech was relatable in that she, too, has experienced challenges, such as when she played soccer with male athletes before joining all-female teams and felt excluded for being a girl. But with a laugh, Chavez also recalled her coaching of 5-year-olds and how that has given her added experiences on the field.
“They are very competitive,” Chavez said of the kids.
Other recognitions went to Motley, who was presented with the Jessica P. Sarawitz Founders Award. Motley grew up playing soccer, but it wasn’t until his daughter was in high school and joined the soccer team, and then surprised him by telling him she’d signed him up to be the preseason coach, that he began to see the gender disparities in the sport, he said.
“I saw the abundance of resources for the boys and men, and not so much for the girls and women,” he said.
That’s when he founded Heart of the City and began volunteering in 2018, before taking on the role of board president in 2022.
Medline Industries Inc. was given the Partner of the Year Award for its contributions, and Gurnee resident Sangjun Hornewer was awarded Coach of the Year.
