ROCKWOOD, Ore. (KPTV) — Using martial arts expertise to turn young athletes into tomorrow’s leaders. That is the goal of one local charity “Fathers Heart Sports.”
“Fathers Heart Sports” is the nonprofit wing of Team Quest MMA, a mixed martial arts gym, that has been a mainstay in the Rockwood neighborhood for more than 25 years.
“We are trying to put this place right where the kids are, where the kids need a gym and need access to this,” said head coach and owner, Matt Lindland.
Lindland is proud to say he has never turned a kid away for lack of finances, knowing the positive impact martial arts can have on their futures, but says he has only seen the need in the community increase.
In its first year, Fathers Heart Sports raised $30,000, in its second year $35,000, and this year Lindland says they are trying to double that.
“Funding is a big deal,” said Lindland. “A lot of these kids don’t have money for gloves, or uniforms and then they start going to tournaments with $100 entry fee.”
Currently 64 athletes in kindergarten to fifth grade are supported through Fathers Heart Sports, and Team Quest also supports a robust teen program.
Ten-year-old Jervy Womplu has been coming to Team Quest for four and a half years now. He says the training has made a big difference in his life.
“At first, I was getting bullied and then I got in some fights, and I was getting bad grades,” he said. “I’m not getting into fights anymore, I’m not getting suspended.”
While it may sound unorthodox, Fathers Heart Sports believes combat sports can give kids self confidence, develop better emotional control, and focus.
“It’s a really positive place for the kids and it really allows them to grow within themselves to do things that they maybe didn’t think they could do,” said Betty Lind, whose son, Ellis, has been attending Team Quest for three years. “He’s had growth in so many areas, his confidence mostly.”
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“Anything in life when you start something new, its going to be a little scary, you are going to be a little nervous, you got to jump in and try things and you got to be bold, you got to be courageous and those are the things martial arts teaches you,” Lindland said. “Here’s an opportunity to help some kids get a chance to train martial arts and totally transform their lives and change their outcome in the future.”
Lindland knows first hand how martial arts can transform one’s life.
Originally from outside of Oregon City, Lindland picked up wrestling in high school and took it all the way to the 2000 Olympics, bringing home a silver medal. He then went on to become a professional MMA fighter and coach of the 2016 and 2020 US Olympic wrestling teams.
“My favorite thing is seeing these guys that came in here, they were nervous, they were timid, they were scared,” he said. “And they get on the mats and they try it and they fall in love with the sport and they stick around for a decade or so and then all of a sudden they are adults and they want to come back and coach and give back because it changed their lives.”
Those like Carl “CJ” Orchard, who started training at Team Quest when he was 5. He’s now heading into his senior year at Corbett High School and is spending much of his summer helping the next generation.
“I like watching the kids go through what I had to and be the coach and help them push through what they have to,” Orchard said. “Having a program like this is important. Outside we are not exactly located in the best part of Portland. So, it gets kids off the street, out of gangs, and into a disciplinarian where they can learn and learn from their actions.”
Lindland says they can use help in anyway – equipment, snacks, water, time, and funding.
Through a partnership with public charter school, Rockwood Preparatory Academy, the gym picks up students from school and walks them to the gym for open play, prior to class.
This fall, kids will have access to snacks through a new partnership with the Sunshine Division.
If you would like to donate or assist in anyway, visit Fathers Heart Sports.
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