DPR Volunteer Spotlight: Doreen and Charlie

We love our volunteers! And what better way to show them how much we love them than to do a little shoutout!? This week we want to say T-H-A-N-K Y-O-U to two of our Durham Girls Soccer League coaches and learn more about their volunteer story...

What is your current volunteer role with Durham Parks and Recreation?

• Doreen and Charlie are co-coaches for Scotland in the DGSL 11-13 age group.

When did you decide to start volunteering?

• Charlie: We each had a daughter playing for Scotland back in 2014 when they were both seven. The coaches were two Duke students who graduated before the end of the season. Doreen and I had gotten to know each other on the sidelines, so we volunteered to cover the last game as coaches. The girls played an amazing game, we had a great group of parents, and it was fun! So we stayed on as coaches and are still with the team five years later.

Why did you want to sign up to be a DGSL Coach?

• Charlie: At first it was just to help and because someone had to. For me the question is why do we keep doing it?  The answer for me is that it has been an amazing experience. We get to meet kids and families that we might never have met. Out of the 17 girls on the team we have representation from at least 7 schools and they all get along so well. Our own daughters have never gone to the same school but they have become close friends through the team. We have a core of players who have been together for several years, but every season we pick up a few new girls and they always fit right in.  

Share a funny or memorable story from your time volunteering.

• Charlie: Too many individual moments to even begin! What has been so amazing is to see some girls who quite literally could not swing their leg at a ball without missing a few years ago and now they are running, passing, and playing as a team with such confidence. That’s not because Doreen and I are highly skilled soccer coaches. We weren’t five years ago and we aren’t much better today! We’ve just tried to set a good team culture of having fun, being good teammates, with just dose of competitive spirit and the girls do the rest.

Thank you so much Doreen and Charlie for being an amazing DPR volunteer and teaching girls the in's and out's of soccer! You both stepped up to the plate and took on this responsibility with the perfect attitude..and made some lifelong friends along the way!

The Durham Girls Soccer League, along with other athletic leagues and general DPR programs, would not be successful without the hundreds of volunteers we work with every year! Looking for a way to give back to your community? We're always looking for more volunteers! Visit our website for more information!