Croft Takes Part in Coach for College

May 25, 2012

VIETNAM – Miami Hurricanes volleyball player Eryn Croft will be taking part in Coach for College, an Atlantic Coast Conference initiative meant to provide role models to youth in rural areas overseas.

READ ERYN’S BLOG: “My Adventure in Vietnam“

ACC student-athletes partner with Vietnamese college students as teachers and coaches to teach sports, academics, and life skills classes and oversee team-based competitions in three-week summer camps held in rural Vietnam.

“We are proud of Eryn for being involved with such a worthwhile cause and representing Miami and the ACC in this venture,” Head Coach Nicole Lantagne Welch said. 

Designed in the fall of 2007 by Parker Goyer, a 2007 graduate of Duke University and former member of the Duke varsity women’s tennis team, the program provides sports infrastructure to youth who attend middle schools in rural parts of developing countries. Croft is one of nine student-athlete coaches at each individual camp camp – all 12 Atlantic Coast Conference institutions are represented by student-athletes at the conclusion of the summer’s three sessions.

In the program, American college athletes receive an immersive experience in a region of a developing country which could not be experienced as a tourist. They are able to learn about another culture directly through close friendships they develop with local rural citizens, the Vietnamese middle school students, and the Vietnamese college students. 

They are also able to work closely with student-athletes on other sports teams and who attend other universities in the ACC. Through the program, American athletes develop the skills needed to be effective global leaders committed to positive social change.

“She will surely be a great role model and inspiration for the youth in Vietnam,” Coach Lantagne Welch said. “I’m confident Eryn will also learn and grow so much from this experience.”