Misty Huss, Beat Writer Shootout For Soldiers
Lacrosse is Awesome
It’s in the books. The first annual Shootout For Soldiers was held in Colorado a little less than two months ago; the first time in their history and I am already pumped for next year. If you don’t know about this charity event, you should. I learned about Shootout For Soldiers (SFS) several years ago, and loved what this group of college kids was doing for the Veteran’s community. Coming from a military family, I know what it looks like when loved ones come home from active duty. I held my breath two years ago when SFS announced that they were expanding outside of the East Coast. Surely after hosting the Worlds in 2014, Denver would be on that expansion list for 2015. Sadly, it didn’t happen. That’s when I rallied my troops to bring SFS to Colorado!
Thrilled is the best word to describe when we got the call from founder Tyler Steinhardt saying that we got it, along with Houston and Atlanta. In six short months a small group of unbelievable volunteers worked with me to bring this to life. As I learned from other SFS Organizers from around the country, the first year always seems light in terms of it taking off. It’s a tough concept for people to understand. The idea that this is all for charity; it is not a tournament; and you play one game somewhere in a twenty-four hour period is tough to understand. The entire prior first year locations easily doubled their attendance and participation the second year.
July 28th and July 29th arrived and we were ready in Aurora. We had amazing teams raise the $750.00 minimum amount (about $50.00 per player) to get their game. Some, like the Loveland Titans U11 team raised $3,100.00 alone. 
To date, we raised over $25,000.00 in Colorado for our nations finest. This year we supported four national charities: Gary Sinise Foundation; Team Red White and Blue; The Army Ranger Lead the Way Fund; and The Simper Fi Fund. We also gave to two Colorado based charities: Project Sanctuary; and No Barriers USA. The charities were on site talking to everyone about the awesome work that they do, SFS is not just about raising money, it’s about raising awareness and support.
In this event we had some players that played in upwards of 12 different games; we had two young men fly out from Boston because they couldn’t attend SFS Boston; we held the first ever SFS girls versus boys stick swap game; father/son games
; and the National Anthem at the top of every single hour… it was awesome; it was fun; and it was all for an amazing cause. I had so many players and spectators tell me that they can’t wait for next year and how they want to bring more of their club; high school; and college teams out to play. Honestly, it was one of the most rewarding lacrosse experiences I’ve been a part of.
We also want to thank Di Miller from Di Miller Photography and Lacrosse is Awesome for covering the event for us as well.
Do you want to be a part of something special? Keep your eye on the SFS website shootoutforsoldiers.com; Facebook; Twitter; and Instagram. We open up registration in the early spring, but if you have any questions you can always email us at colorado@shootoutforsoldiers.com
Here’s one of our photo galleries on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.599141283615831.1073741847.285311541665475&type=1&l=d505df2c1e
I look forward to meeting all of you and your teams in 2017.
Misty Huss, Beat Writer Shootout For Soldiers
Lacrosse is Awesome