Barrington teens find use for old cleats

Sam Caruso of Kildeer and Blake Widmoyer of Barrington both played youth football growing up. And like their teammates, they accumulated lots of pairs of football cleats.

Now high school sophomores ­- Caruso at Stevenson and Widmoyer at Barrington - they looked around for a service project, and looked no further than their own garages, filled with leftover cleats from their younger days.

An idea was born. Why not hold collection drives for slightly used football cleats, and donate them to agencies working with youngsters in need.

They called their organization, "Repeat Athlete," and even designed a Web site: www.repeatathlete.org.

At the end of last season, after both teens finished with their respective freshmen football teams, they worked with the Lake Zurich Flames to set up a collection.

Using a Lake Zurich fire house as a drop-off point, they collected 70 pairs of cleats.

"We found that lots of families had kids that had grown out of cleats," Caruso says. "Kids grow out of cleats, really fast."

After cleaning and sorting the pairs, they searched for worthy youth organizations to receive their donations. That proved to be the hardest part of their plan, finding community partners.

Turns out, they were able to donate the larger sizes to the prep football program at Manley Career Academy High School in Chicago. But that still left them with lots of smaller sizes, in good condition, just waiting for new owners.

The two teens are negotiating with the Primo Center for Women in Children on Chicago's West side. Executive Director Dollie Williams indicated they might be able to distribute the cleats to youngsters during their summer sports camps.

However, Caruso and Widmoyer still are seeking more organizations, in need of slightly used football cleats for their athletes. They urge prospective groups to contact them, by emailing info@repeatathlete.org.

This year, the teens plan to set up a collection program again with the Lake Zurich Flames, as well as the Barrington Youth Football Program, and possibly the Buffalo Bills Youth Football Program, in Buffalo Grove.

All three play in The Chicagoland Youth Football League, which claims to be the largest independent youth tackle program in the country, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and involving youngsters from 21 communities in northern Illinois and southeast Wisconsin.

Beyond teaching the fundamentals of football and good sportsmanship, league officials promote active citizenship and strong character in their young players.

Caruso and Widmoyer, who both came up through the league, appeared to have reaped the benefits.