Orlando Predators participate in American Education Week
Tuesday November 24, 2015
ORLANDO – November 24, 2015 – Last Tuesday and Wednesday, the Orlando Predators helped celebrate American Education Week by participating in the Seminole and Orange County Teach-In events.
Teach-In gives local community leaders an opportunity to enhance student learning by visiting classrooms and speaking with students about their careers and experiences. Head Coach Rob Keefe, General Manager Michael DiJulio, and Predators players spoke to nearly 3,000 students across 22 different schools.
“It filled me with joy to be able to spend time with these young people,” Keefe stated. “I was honored to speak about passion, heart, and believing in one’s self. Ultimately it’s about making your community stronger. It was a great week for the kids and the Orlando Predators.”
Defensive back Brian Smith was able to relate to students and chose to relay lessons learned from his youth.
“I spoke to the kids about the importance of getting good grades and staying motivated,” said Smith. “It’s never too early to start working towards your goals, so I tried to get them to start looking forward to what they want to be later on in life.”
The opportunity was especially rewarding to Keefe, who left students with an inspirational message.
“I learned very early on from my mother – who was a career-long educator herself – that it should be our mission as adults to teach young children that the ability to achieve their dreams is a reality. American Education Week helps children discover their goals and dreams. Dreams do come true if you want something bad enough and everyone at one point was just a young kid from somewhere.”
About The Orlando Predators
The Orlando Predators celebrate their 25th Anniversary in 2016 as Central Florida’s most exciting and innovative professional sports franchise. Proud members of the Arena Football League, the Predators have achieved unprecedented success on the field. Orlando has advanced to the AFL playoffs a league-leading 22 times in their history while securing seven conference championships, including two ArenaBowl Championship victories in 1998 and 2000.