For the first time since it was founded in 2004, Lauren Loose was unable to attend her soccer camp of the same name.
She usually performed at Lauren’s First and Goal (LFG) football camp and spoke in her honor to thousands of high school-aged players and hundreds of coaches. She is a survivor of multiple brain tumors and cancer diagnoses that she has battled since she was first diagnosed with type 1 neurofibromatosis in 1997.
The money raised from these camps – usually at Lafayette College (Easton, Pennsylvania) in early June – went to donations for research into pediatric tumors, pediatric cancer services, or directly to patients and families in need. Players would pay to attend the event. others brought in additional donations for the camp’s namesake charity. The trainers would give their time and energy free of charge to teach them. Many also donated to charity.
Prior to 2021, the annual one-day camp had raised $ 2.6 million. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation in 2020. The event was originally scheduled for June 7, 2020, but it was evident that it could not be continued safely as the disease spread across the country. Marianne Loose and John Loose, Lauren’s parents and main organizers of the camp, had to reimburse some of the money the players had spent to participate. Others understood the importance of money and viewed it simply as a donation.
That didn’t change the fact that as long as COVID-19 remained a threat, LFG couldn’t hold its largest fundraiser.
Such thoughts kept Marianne Loose awake at night. That and the occasional social worker who calls from a partner hospital to tell her about a family in need of financial support. She and her husband John – former defensive coordinator at Lafayette and current deputy head coach under Jeff Monken at Army – had never passed such a test in their 17 years organizing the event.
“‘We have to do something. We have to find something. We have to,” recalls Marianne Loose of the thinking. “We had to come up with something.
“I just didn’t know what it was going to be.”
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When the Loose family started the LFG camp in 2004, there were around 300 players and 56 coaches, the latter of whom they knew in some way and wanted to help them and their charity in any way they could.
Over the years, the camp grew into one of the largest one-day soccer clinics in the country, with branches in Ohio and Florida. At the height of a one-day camp, around 2,500 campers and hundreds of college and professional coaches could be accommodated.
The connections the Loose family made in these camps ultimately enabled them to host an event in 2021.
Keith Grabowski had coached Baldwin Wallace University twice at camp and knew firsthand the importance of being able to go on in some way. Grabowski, now football director at CoachTube – an online service that gives coaches around the world access to training and video content – reached out to the Loose family with a new format that LFG can continue to use to raise money.
“When COVID shut everything down, I reached out to John and Marianne Loose to set up a virtual clinic and put together the best clinic line-up of coaches ever put together,” Grabowski said. “We were all excited about the concept, and after talking to some college coaches initially, we knew we had a concept that the coaches were going to leave behind. From there the work started and we really didn’t hear the word ‘no’. “
After a test run in the spring to make sure the format worked – “it was great” – John Loose, Grabowski and Wade Floyd, founders of CoachTube and CoachesClinic, went to work on the first LFG Coaches Clinic.
A big part of that was recruiting coaches who wanted to participate. Not that it was difficult.
The final 2021 roster consisted of 153 speakers, including representatives from all major college football conferences, including keynote speaker from Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell. Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn; North Carolina coach Mack Brown; Rutgers trainer Greg Schiano; Georgia Tech Trainer Geoff Collins; Baylor trainer Dave Aranda; Penn State trainer James Franklin; Arizona Coach Jedd Fisch; and Army trainer Jeff Monken.
John Loose said, “They are all busy and are all pulled in a number of directions. And it’s amazing how many coaches turned to us when they heard about the clinic. … So the outpouring of the profession is amazing to me. It’s really.”
For his part, Monken is not surprised that the clinic received such support. He recalls how amazed he was at the extent of the camp when he first contributed to it in 2014 – that same year he hired John Loose as a security coach for his army staff.
“There are now coaches who turn to John and ask if they can be a part of it,” Monken told Sporting News. “He doesn’t have to ask anymore. There are so many coaches that John only called this week and said, “Hey, can you fit me in? Can I speak? Can i be part of the clinic? ‘”
The 2021 event was different from previous iterations except that it was completely virtual. Where it had previously taken place over the course of a day and focused on teaching players, the coach-focused clinic lasted over four days from Jan. 14-17.
Trainers could buy tickets for access to the online clinic, 80 percent go to the LFG. In addition, the website will create and sell videos of each course from the clinic, with 80 percent of the funds also going to charity. And because of the virtual nature of the event, LFG didn’t have to spend money on past expenses like lunch, insurance, or other necessary amenities.
With no donations, John Loose estimated the four-day event raised more than $ 97,000 in donations – much like a one-day camp.
Another benefit of the purely virtual clinic was the increased profile of the charity. While the camp used to be mostly known in Pennsylvania and the surrounding states, the clinic caught the attention of spectators as far as Poland, Germany and Japan in 2021. The Loose family hopes this will lead to a better profile for the charity – not to mention donations and sponsorship.
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However, the purely virtual setup had its disadvantages. The event’s regulars missed Lauren. This includes Franklin, who asked her parents to give her a virtual hug on his behalf.
She also missed the interactions.
“Camp is usually one of my favorite things to do of the year,” Lauren, who will turn 24 in February, told SN. “And not having this year is kind of sad. But I’m glad we found a way to raise some money that way. “
Still, she found a way to talk to coaches. Her interaction with Brown was one of the highlights of the clinic.
It remains to be seen whether Laurens First and Goal will return to a football camp after the COVID-19 pandemic has ended. After the enormous success of the virtual clinic, Marianne Loose said that “everything is still on the table”.
One thing is certain, however: as long as they are able, Marianne and John Loose will continue to raise funds not only to research pediatric brain tumors, but also to support families in need. And all in Lauren’s name.
“COVID has left many plans behind,” said Marianne Loose. “But cancer doesn’t stop because of COVID.”
The Loose family doesn’t seem to be either.
