GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many young people around the country. Schools have been closed since mid-March, summer camps and other activities were canceled, and vacations were curtailed or canceled for millions.

Tusculum University men's soccer player Ira Heppard saw the lockdown and restrictions as a chance to reach out to young people in his neighborhood. Heppard, a rising sophomore, resides in Harlem, New York City just off 120th Street, and took advantage of a street closure outside his front door to gather kids from ages four to 12 for soccer training.

"I was encouraged to make this camp to try and take their minds off all of the troubles their families might be going through," said Heppard, a business major who was a member of the Tusculum reserve unit during his freshman season. "I wanted to keep them active and share my love of the game with inner-city kids."

"What a wonderful thing that Ira has done. It's so moving to see that even in these difficult times, he can find a way to unselfishly give his time to help kids in his neighborhood stay on top of their soccer training," said Tusculum head coach Allen Vital. "I am so proud of him for that."

Heppard started off with six kids in his training session, but once word got around the neighborhood more and more children would come out to play. At one point, 20 kids were participating in the hour-long sessions, which he would hold three days per week outside the distinguished brownstone townhouses tucked between Central Park to the south and Yankee Stadium to the north.

"With New York City being the epicenter of the virus for so long, all the camps were cancelled. They even took down the basketball hoops to make sure people weren't playing sports," said Heppard, whose practices were held just outside Marcus Garvey Park in the heart of Harlem. "The kids were jumping on walls begging to get outside and play anything. For a lot of them, it was the first time playing soccer, but they showed great concentration and the will to learn."

Mindful of the pandemic restrictions, Heppard and his young players made sure to practice social distancing and wear masks during the training sessions.

Tusculum has won three of the last six South Atlantic Conference Men's Soccer Championship titles under Vital, who has completed nine seasons as Pioneer head coach and 23 seasons overall at the Division II level. With 243 career wins, Vital ranks 43rd in Division II history and 19th among active Division II coaches in victories.