Amherst, N.Y. - Newly-appointed Daemen College Head Men's Soccer Coach Bobby McColl announced the addition of a special member to the men's soccer program as 16-year old Drew Boehnlein of East Amherst, N.Y. was formally introduced during a press conference today at Lumsden Gymnasium.
Drew comes to Daemen through a partnership with Team IMPACT, a non-profit organization that aims to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses. Core to their model is harnessing the power of teamwork by matching these courageous kids with college athletic teams. Team IMPACT children are drafted onto local college athletic teams and, to the greatest extent possible, become an official member of the team for the duration of their treatment and beyond."
"We are excited to welcome Drew and his family to our team," said McColl who just recently took the reins of the program. "Meeting Drew for the first time today was a great experience for me, and for our student-athletes. We are all looking forward for the opportunity to spend a lot of time with him and we sincerely hope he enjoys his experience with us."
Drew, a 10th grade student at Maryvale High School, was born with Down Syndrome and had to be admitted to the intensive care unit at birth with a hole in his heart. He has had over 15 surgeries and requires intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusion treatments every 28 days. The IVIG treamtents help Drew's immune system due to the autoimmune deficiency he has.
"I really feel like this relationship will be as beneficial for our student-athletes as it is for Drew," McColl said. "Our team can learn a lot about toughness from this young man."
Drew is joining the men's soccer program as it winds down spring practices. According to McColl, there will be opportunities for Drew to remain in contact with team members throughout the summer months before everything ramps back up with the start of fall practice in mid-August.
Drew is now the third Team IMPACT child to be paired with a Daemen team. In November of 2014, twelve-year old Leontae Parker became a member of the Daemen men's basketball team, and just this past December, the women's basketball team added eight-year old Sofia Reisman to their roster.
Learn more about Team IMPACT at goteamimpact.org.
WILDCAT PROFILE
NAME: Drew Boehnlein
AGE: 16
HOMETOWN: East Amherst, N.Y.
FAVORITE COLORS: Purple
FAVORITE FOODS: Gluten-free pizza, cheeseburgers
FAVORITE MOVIES: Big Daddy, Marley and Me
FAVORITE MUSIC: All the Wiggles songs and whatever is playing on the Top 40 radio station
FAVORITE NUMBER: 16
FAVORITE GAMES: Candy Land and Memory
HIS IDOL: Older sister Alexis - he's never missed one of her soccer games
OTHER LIKES: high-fives, fist pumping, selfies and people cheering for him
ABOUT TEAM IMPACT:
Team IMPACT is national organization, based in Boston, whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses through the power of team. Team IMPACT children are drafted on to college athletic teams, local to where they live and, in effect, become official members of the team from Draft Day through to Graduation. Established in 2011, Team IMPACT has already matched over 800 children with collegiate teams at over 300 institutions in 45 states, improving the quality of life of hundreds of courageous children and touching the lives of over 25,000 student athletes.
Provided by the Daemen Sports Information Department.
