A message from Sally and Mima Nedelcovych

Founders of CNSF

January 2021

 

Dear Friends,

 

As many of you know, it has been 20 years since we tragically lost our dearest first-born son, Chris, to a dreadful car accident at the age of 17.  The only way we have been able to console ourselves in any small meaningful way is to keep Chris’ spirit alive through the good works of the Chris Nedelcovych Soccer Foundation that we established in his memory soon after his passing.

 

The mission of the Foundation was based on the principle of “Youth Coaching Youth”, a principle that Chris so eloquently illustrated in his college application essay, entitled “The Greatest Gift”.  In the essay, he explained how he inspired his younger brother's soccer team to turn a bad season into a good one. He asked the coach if he could help out with coaching the players, only three years younger than he, and he guided the team into a turn-around.   In doing so, he developed a passion for coaching soccer. He saw that by believing in the players, he gave them a reason to believe in themselves. "The greatest gift is to know that you have had, in some way, a positive impact on someone's life" was young Chris’ simple but powerful message.

 

With the support of so many of you, the CNSF has been able to financially assist numerous aspiring young men and women in the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Africa to improve their coaching and life skills.  In the past 20 years, the Chris Nedelcovych Soccer Foundation has touched the lives of nearly 200 youths by supporting them with scholarships to attend soccer coaching clinics, camps and tournaments, to strive to reach for what Chris called “The Greatest Gift”. 

During that period, those CNSF Candidates were able to attend state level, national level and NSCAA coaching camps, with seven candidates culminating in receiving US Soccer Federation A level licenses and one going as far as receiving the German Soccer Federation A License.

Over the years we also hosted community tournaments dubbed the Annual Chris Cup in Mali, Africa.

In order to expand our reach and scope in helping more youth achieve those ideals illustrated by Chris in his college application, we have merged our programs with those of Open Field bringing exciting new programs to our joint endeavors.  Our two organizations share a common mission: “Improving the lives and futures of youth through sport.” 

Every tax-deductible contribution to CNSF will be recognized as such, as we expand our common mission to positively influence as many young lives as we can, in the spirit of “The Greatest Gift”!

 

Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!

Sally and Mima Nedelcovych