2022 | Ohio | BOYS

Gilmour Academy Boys Prep | Lancers | BOYS

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to write on behalf of Vincent Stafford Jr. who has been a player of mine for the past two years and a player in our organization all 8 years I have been here at Gilmour Academy as an administrator in our athletic department. In today’s athletic world most kids move around to multiple organizations and are always looking for the next best option. Vince has remained incredibly loyal and committed to our program and making it better both on and off the ice. He is the first player in our organization to start out at a young age in our Learn to Skate program and progress all the way to our top nationally ranked boys prep hockey team. Serving as an alternate captain this season and leading our 135 student athletes’ in the hockey program in grade point average on top of exceeding his service requirement that our school has in place. This has made him the figure head of our program and someone people can look up to.

The best way to describe Vince in three words are loyal, generous and caring. His loyalty is shown through his commitment to our program even when there were some ups and downs. He is a generous individual with his time, and caring with his feelings and his empathy. For example, in my two years as his coach he has started two absolutely astonishing projects to better the lives of others. The first he designed, produced and sold programs for our hockey program that he sold sponsorship for as well as physically sold hard copies of the programs. With those proceeds he donated all the money to the Rainbow Babies Children’s Hospital amounting in thousands of dollars for the cause. Another incredible idea Vince had was he wanted to bring a sled hockey program to our ice arena where we could give the opportunity of playing the sport that he loves to physically disabled youth. With this project he again orchestrated an amazing donation platform that raised thousands of dollars for a nonprofit organization called Youth Challenge where children with physical disabilities can try the sport of sled hockey here at our ice arena. This project was even more special because he hosted an event here on our campus where kids could come in and try it for free and the excitement surrounding the event was simply spectacular. This is just a small example of the type of person Vince is.

I without hesitation would recommend Vincent Stafford Jr. for this honor. If I can help answer any questions at all or provide more information do not hesitate to contact me at the provided contact information.

Thank you.