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In his new part, former Muhlenberg level guard Toomey Anderson ’03 is increasing entry to athletics for the 17,000 pupils in the Allentown University District.

By:



Meghan Kita 



Monday, November 14, 2022 08:37 AM
Toomey Anderson ’03. Images by Marco Calderon
For the very first time this tumble, the youngest learners in the Allentown University District will be able to take part in immediately after-university sports activities with out having to leave their faculties. 50 {e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of the 14 elementary faculties in the district are offering tennis and soccer, the other 50 {e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}, flag soccer and … mixed martial arts (MMA).
“They’re not going to be in call with each and every other,” says Toomey Anderson ’03, the district’s to start with coordinator of athletics and actions K-12. “The technique, the instruction, the fundamentals of discovering how to box and kickbox — those people types of things will be carried out.”
One particular of the causes Allentown is introducing sports activities for younger learners is to feed the middle and high school athletic courses, and wrestling, which is part of MMA, is a activity the district desires to create. A further rationale is to make the district’s elementary and center schools into neighborhood hubs that offer after-faculty enrichment activities (sporting activities, arts, tutoring) in a risk-free, supervised surroundings until eventually mothers and fathers can select up their little ones. One more is to enhance attendance by supplying young ones anything to glance forward to soon after a working day in the classroom. But the most important cause is for the reason that seeking out a selection of activities is just great for kids.
“When you’re younger, your entire body is nonetheless acquiring and your mind’s however growing and establishing. Until you are exposed to as quite a few distinct things as feasible, you really do not know what your genuine expertise is,” suggests Anderson, who was a scholar-athlete and political science major at Muhlenberg. “I played a wide range of athletics at that age. Regardless of what activity was on Tv set that working day, [my friends and I] were outside attempting to participate in it.”
Anderson eventually specialised in basketball, which he played at nearby Parkland Superior University. His to start with stop by to campus was with his significant school coach, to check out the Scotty Wooden Tournament. Muhlenberg’s head basketball coach at the time, Dave Madeira, recruited Anderson to participate in for the Mules. He was on the crew from 1999 to 2003, aiding the Mules to three straight Centennial Convention playoff berths. A issue guard, he scored just about 800 job points and attained All-Centennial honorable mention as a senior. (Anderson also played a one year of football at Muhlenberg that year: “I scored a landing, so it counts,” he jokes.)
Right after graduating, he taught algebra to Philadelphia students who’d been removed from the general public college system for a couple years before having a occupation with the Carbon-Lehigh Intermediate Unit as an psychological help interventionist. In the course of that time, he also coached basketball: in Quakertown, at Allentown Central Catholic and on the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit. In 2010, he began managing the main regional basketball match, the A-Town Throwdown, that was component of Lehigh Valley SportsFest in Allentown’s Cedar Seashore Park.
In 2017, Anderson was recruited to be part of Allentown’s Government Education and learning Charter College — the CEO there had labored with Anderson in Philadelphia. Anderson served as Executive’s career and school advisor, as properly as its assistant athletic director. He constructed up the school’s athletics groups, and its boys’ basketball team would win three District 11 championships whilst he was there.
Also in 2017, the founder of Lehigh Valley SportsFest made a decision to retire. It wasn’t obvious no matter if the function would carry on. Anderson stepped in: “I experienced visions of undertaking a little something much more than just sporting activities,” he suggests. “I have a topic: Almost everything I do is identified as ‘awesome.’”
In the earlier, he’s operate a “Camp Awesome” to expose K-5 pupils from the Lehigh Valley’s cities and suburbs to a selection of activities and to just one yet another. He required to switch Lehigh Valley SportsFest into Lehigh Valley Wonderful! Fest, which debuted in 2018. This year’s occasion experienced the A-City Throwdown as its centerpiece but also provided artwork demonstrates, new music and comedy performances and a wide range of meals vendors serving cuisines from about the world.
“It’s a celebration of arts, athletics, society and leisure,” Anderson claims. “Allentown’s a melting pot. I needed to uncover a way to celebrate all the different elements we have, drawing individuals and teams from all in excess of the location.”
Anderson began his job with the Allentown Faculty District this February, and he’s carrying out significantly extra than growing athletics and functions. This summer months, he aided orchestrate the district’s Summertime Students program, which was launched to beat COVID-linked understanding reduction. Participating students invested their mornings performing on academics and the afternoons making an attempt out distinct things to do, which includes sports activities (like soccer, flag football, volleyball, basketball and monitor), yoga and mindfulness, artwork and songs. He’s supporting the district launch six-7 days study-to-swim packages for college students, which will handle a important security problem and with any luck , have the bonus outcome of creating a far more responsible summer lifeguard pipeline for the town. Anderson is also surveying parents to guideline an growth of adaptive sports activities for students with disabilities in the district.
Although the district been given condition and federal funding to launch new programming, additional funds are needed to take out participation boundaries (these kinds of as very good gear and suitable attire) for some pupils. The best intention, Anderson claims, is for Allentown students to have equitable ordeals to college students from wealthier suburban districts. Another problem is locating sufficient staff to operate these packages, but the assist so far has now been immense.
“The splendor of our district is there are so quite a few people today who truly care about these students,” Anderson says. “We have wonderful aid all over the district and in the course of our local community, people who want to get associated and enable out the students.”
