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June 18, 2001 - Image 8

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
Michigan Daily Summer Weekly, 2001-06-18

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1

8 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, June 18, 2001
The Academy
Over 500 women supported the Comprehensive
Cancer Center by learning about the game of football
By Steve Jackson. Daily Sports Editor

The bleachers at Michigan Stadi-
um were empty when she was
sprinting down the sideline. She
scored on the game's first play.
Her head was completely bald, but
she was the best football player on the
field. She was a hero.
Her name is Kim Turner, and she is
suffering from ovarian cancer.
Turner scored three touchdowns
Saturday afternoon at coach Lloyd
Carr's third-annual Michigan
Women's Football Academy.
This was Turner's first time with
the program, and hopefully not her
last.
"Oh, I loved it," Turner said. "If I'm
still here, you can bet that I'll be back
next year."

Following Turner's postgame hugs
from many of the players and partici-
pants, Carr's final words put the
exclamation point on the afternoon.
"You will now forever be Michigan
women."
A record 500-plus Michigan
women participated this year, and all
proceeds from the event were donated
to the Michigan Comprehensive Can-
cer Center.
"It is a great cause," Michigan wide
receiver coach and camp director Erik
Campbell said. "Cancer is something
that everyone's been affected by."
Lloyd and his wife, Laurie Carr,
established the Coach Carr Cancer
Fund in 1998, when he donated fids
from a speaking engagement to the

Familiar faces
There were a number of Michigan football players leading demonstrations and
drills at coach Carr Football Academy for Women this past Saturday.
Every player helped in the preparation for the event, but only these lucky few
were given the opportunity to work with the ladies this weekend.
Name No. Yr. Pos. Ht. Wgt.
Cats June 2 Jr. FS 6-1 213a
Victor Hobson 6 Jr. OLB 6-1 242
Walter Cross 8 Sr. RB 5-11 209 f
John Navarre 16 So. QB 6-6 242
Jermaine Gonzales 18 So. QB 6-2 201
Ronald Bellamy 19 Jr. WR 6-0 193
Jeremy LeSueur 21 So. CB 6-0 191
Chris Perry 23 So. RB 6-2 228 Navarre
Hayden Epstein 25 Sr. K 6-2 205
Calvin Bell 27 So. WR 6-1 190
John Spytek 42 So. LB 6-3 243
Carl Diggs 43 So. LB 6-1 245
Grant Bowman 60 So. DL 6-1 281
Kurt Anderson 71 Sr. OL 6-4 299
Tony Pape 77 So. OL 6-6 299
Bennie Joppru 83 Jr. TE 6-4 258^
Jake Frysinger 99 Sr. DE 6-4 277
* James Hall - Former Michigan star and current defen-
sive lineman for the Detroit Lions was also in attendance.
* Sue Guevara - the Michigan women's basketball coach brought a recruit with her.

Cancer Center. Soon afterward, it was
suggested that Carr partner with the
cancer center to begin a fund for
patient care programs in memory of
his mother, Pauline, who died of
breast cancer.
"With cancer, early detection is so
important," Carr said. "We raised
some money, but we really want to
raise awareness. That makes a differ-
ence."
But coach Carr and Campbell
couldn't make that difference alone.
Everyone involved with Michigan
football pitched in and volunteered on
their day off.
"When we say the whole program,
we mean the whole whole program,"
Campbell said. "Everyone in Schem-
belcher Hall is involved - every
coach, player, grounds crew and
maintenance guy, secretary, and
equipment manager."
In fact, so many players volun-
teered that coach Campbell had to
turn some away.
"This teaches the young kids to
give something back to their commu-
nity," Campbell said. "And they enjoy
doing it."
Michigan junior offensive lineman
Kurt Anderson relished the opportuni-
ty to participate in the camp this year.
"It may seem kind of corny, but it's
really great to meet your fans,"
Anderson said. "These people are
what make Michigan football great."
THE WELCOME MAT
The preparations, the instructions,
the food and even the grass - coach
Campbell needed everything to be
immaculate for this special occasion.
"It's like gameday," Campbell said.
"This is our first Football Saturday."
Gametime was 9 a.m. Saturday.
When the women began to arrive at
Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, the first thing
many of them saw was this year's
likely starting quarterback, John
Navarre.
The 6-foot-6 giant and his team-

Offensive lineman Kurt Anderson congratulates Beverly Booth after their team
scored their final touchdown.

mates, linebacker John Spytek and
offensive lineman Tony Pape, arrived
in golf carts to transport the ladies to
the registration desk.
Photos and autographs started to
slow the process, but no one seemed
to care.
Audrey Demak,, a veteran of all
three football academies, will always
remember forcing a humble and shy
Navarre into a photo last June.
"It was so great to see him excel
last season," Demak said. "And I told
everyone that I knew him before."
Demak's husband, a Michigan
alumnus, signed her up without warn-
ing for the first year, but now she
looks forward to the event.
"I still don't really know football,"
Demak said. "But now I'll watch the
game more because I have some idea
what they are doing."
Once inside of Oosterbaan, the
ladies were given commemorative
maize T-shirts along with a variety of
other gifts, including the 2000 sea-
son's media guide for Michigan Foot-
ball.
"If I didn't pick one of these guides
up for my husband, I'd be walking
back to Tennessee," said three-time
participant and Nashville resident
Connie Hensley.
The Hensley's make the drive north
for every Michigan home game.
"It's not healthy," Hensley said. "It's
an addiction. Once you're hooked,
you can never give it tsp."
LET THE GAMES BEGIN
After all the gifts were compiled
and stored away in bags on the
perimeter walls, the camp began with
its first lesson - equipment.
Hanky Van De Wege, proprietor of
Moe's Sports Shop in Ann Arbor, was

chosen to model the gameday garb
and demonstrate how to put it all on.
"It really shows you how compli-
cated the game is, when it takes that
much work just to get dressed," she
said.
Carr followed the demonstrati
with a speech on how to win footba
games.
He provided five key elements:
Play hard, play smart, tackle, block
and do it all as a team.
Carr's winning message reached
women of all ages.
Michigan alumna Deborah Smart
of Gurnee, Ill. braved treacherous
road conditions to bring her daugg
ters, Jasmine (11) and Jillian Walker
(15) to the event.
"The best part is getting so up close
with all the players," Jasmine said.
Despite her father's Michigan State
pedigree, Jillian plans on attending
Michigan when she is old enough.
"Dad will be mad," Jillian said.
"But he'll get over it."
Carr also laid down the one rule for
the day - do exactly what your
coaches tell you.
His wife, Laurie, was also in atteo
dance.
"I wish she would do everything
she was told," Carr joked to the
crowd.
Carr closed his speech by stressing
the use of water, rest and sunscreen
during the afternoon's festivities.
T HISISS HOw WE 00 IT
The human sea of maize floode
out of Oosterbaan and into the brig
sunlit practice field behind the facili-
ty. Next, the women were divided into
10 groups for the morning's drill and
instruction period.
Each group would learn something

Tight end Bennie ioppru teaches a group of campers the art of the three-point stance.

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