The Warriors football program took the UWaterloo campus community by storm last year with their incredible 4-0 start and this off-season, they continued their momentum in the Kitchener-Waterloo community with their outreach program, Huddle-Up sponsored by Pioneer.
Huddle-Up is a free community outreach program for elementary schools in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region that runs annually mid-May to late June. The program runs for 90 minutes for up to 150 elementary aged students held in their gym or fields.
The program was established four years ago when head coach
Chris Bertoia took over the football program and has grown exponentially each year. In 2018, Huddle-Up reached over 3,800 students at 17 different schools. Over 25 different Warriors volunteered their time to deliver Huddle-Up with eight student-athletes attending eight or more sessions.
"We are incredibly proud of the Huddle-Up program and the dedication of our student-athletes to give back to our awesome community," said Bertoia.
"It is very important to myself and our program to have representation in our community and give back to our younger generation who look up to our student-athletes. The Huddle-Up program is a great way of reaching out to younger students in a fun and easy-going environment."
Huddle-Up focuses on educating and creating opportunities through an active lifestyle and has a key emphasis on anti-bullying and that we are all teammates.
"We are extremely proud of the efforts that our coaches and student-athletes make to reach so many children in our community. Huddle-Up is a great example, providing positive messages about living a healthy and active lifestyle while discussing an important topic of bully prevention," said associate director,
Brian Bourque.
"You hear a lot about bullying in schools nowadays and our goal with Huddle-Up is to stop bullying in its tracks through teamwork and common goals," mentioned Bertoia.
Huddle-Up also discusses the importance of a healthy lifestyle including nutritional tips and the benefit of staying active.
"We keep it light and fun for the kids but also ensure our student-athletes are getting the key messages to these students. It is incredibly rewarding putting smiles on these kids' faces while knowing we are making a difference in their lives," concluded Bertoia.
