DC SCORES Fall Frenzy delivers nonstop activity for over 1,000 kids

The day began in complete darkness, just an empty soccer field in NE Washington, DC. It ended with the same empty bed of green grass under a blue sky pocked with the puffiest of clouds.

In between 6:30am and 2:30pm, something happened. Something really BIG.

The 19th Annual DC SCORES Fall Frenzy took over the athletic fields at Trinity Washington University Saturday, bringing nonstop soccer games and a host of other sports and arts activities to more than 1,000 elementary school program participants.

The day began with two and a half hours of setup, was followed by a call-and-response with all the teams at 9:20am, and then a 1-2-3 DC SCORES!!! And action.

From there, every DC SCORES team -- all kids and coaches proudly wearing their jerseys, the colors ranging from neon pink, to dark blue, from neon green, to yellow, you get the point; the teams covered the spectrum -- rotated between activities.

Six soccer games at a time were played on the main Trinity field. Up the hill, two more games were conducted at a time. And down the hill, on the lower level, teams switched between an event-record 11 stations all run by DC SCORES program partners and volunteers.

Relay races. Dodgeball. A soccer skills station. Poetry writing. Coloring and drawing. The shooting accuracy station. Facepainting. Picture-taking with D.C. United mascot Talon. And even autographs with DCU players Charlie Horton and Chris Korb.

The event wouldn't have been at all possible without the incredible support of 160-plus volunteers, many representing the dozens of SCORES partner groups who came out to help. From Safeway's huge truck arriving in the morning to deliver loads of water bottles, to AmeriHealth DC's table with lots of healthy goodies for the kids, to the George Washington Swim & Dive team -- the entire team -- picking up trash all over the grounds and breaking down goals to aid a quick exit after the kids were gone, our partners basically ran Fall Frenzy.

Here's a full list of Fall Frenzy partners. Thank you again!
CBRS American University
City Kids
Clark Construction
D.C. United
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Discovery Education
DJ RBI
Edmund Burke School
Kappa Alpha Theta
The Field School
GWU Phi Delta Psi
GWU Men's Swimming and Diving
GWU Men's Soccer
Hogan Lovells US LLP
Howard University Alpha Phi Omega
November Project DC
Promontory Financial Group
Revolution Foods
Trinity Washington University

If you asked any kid their favorite part of Fall Frenzy, you'd likely get a different answer. Many, of course, said the soccer. They relished the chance to not just play, but take on new teams from all over Washington, DC (during our regular game days, teams don't travel too far for games because of late school dismissals and traffic). Others loved the relay races. Others showed off their "Messi" facepainting. And at the end of the day, kids rushed to the table where Horton and Korb sat, handing them shoes and anything elee for autographs. Talon, obviously, was another big hit.

The action-packed day left kids, and their families, exhausted as the field quickly cleared at 2:30pm, the goals, booths and people gone within 30 minutes. By 3pm, it was as if nothing had even happened.

Those who experienced it know much better. Here's some photo evidence.

FALL FRENZY 2016 BY THE NUMBERS

• 1,000+ kids
• 160+ volunteers
• 96 soccer games
• 22 partner groups 
• 11 activity booths
• 1 mascot 

Communities, partners come together for 18th Annual DC SCORES Fall Frenzy

Written by Jake Lloyd
Communications Manager
@jakelam2116

View photos on Flickr
View the Social Media Storify HERE

If anyone wasn't sure about DC SCORES' whole-child approach to building teams -- not just through sports, or the arts, or academics -- Saturday's Fall Frenzy proved it.

Here was the scene for the 18th annual outdoor mid-season celebration of the fall.

On the main soccer field (and up a hill, too) at Trinity Washington University, kids played eight soccer games -- one after another, the girls followed by the boys. Large throngs of family members and friends lined the sidelines often three-deep, cheering on the kids while dancing to DJ RBI's beats and posing for selfies with D.C. United mascot Talon.

Neon yellow shirts dotted the fields, a large cadre of volunteers new and old running the games, having fun with the kids, and doing some teaching as well.

When the horn blew, each of the 30-plus teams picked up their belongings and walked -- or ran or skipped -- down the hill to ... poetry and books!

Thanks to our longtime partner Junior League of Washington, every kid received a book. At the adjacent table, each child also wrote a spooky Halloween poem using the writing tools they've developed in creative-expression workshops since early September.

Poem and book in hand, kids then took a seat for a much-needed rest while getting their faces painted -- yet another station run entirely by engaged, energetic and, of course, artistic volunteers!

And then before heading back to the soccer field, kids loosened those leg muscles and got in all kinds of laughs crab-walking, three-legged racing and doing jumping jacks at the relay race station led by awesome free-fitness partner November Project.

But wait, there were two more stops before returning to game play -- the D.C. United and Penya Barcelonista shooting stations. At the D.C. United stop, kids tested out their leg strength trying to kick the ball as hard as possible into an inflatable moon-bounce type apparatus. At the Penya station led by a group of high school kids from the Edmund Burke School, kids were taken through accuracy drills as they aimed for points targets.

By the time teams returned to the soccer fields, they were well-rested, feeling artistic, full of giggles and more than prepared for another game.

Fall Frenzy wouldn't have been possible for more than 1,000 kids and hundreds of family and community members without the support and bodies provided by our many partners. Revolution Foods brought healthy lunches for everyone; DrinkMore Water donated all the water; D.C. United brought the always-popular Talon; the partners mentioned above ran all the booths; and approximately 125 volunteers -- including a huge group from American University -- made the day run smoothly from beginning setup at 5:45am to leaving the facility in perfect condition at 3pm.

And every kid, having experienced a bit of everything, was exhausted and ready for a nap!