IOWA CITY, Iowa – Registration is open for the ninth annual Ladies Football Academy (www.iowaladiesfootballacademy.com). Participants can team up with head coach Kirk Ferentz and members of the University of Iowa football team and coaching staff, while raising money for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
The 2019 Ladies Football Academy is set for Saturday, June 8. The Ladies Football Academy has donated $2.1 million to the Stead Family Children’s Hospital, which opened in 2017. The initial $1 million was used toward hospital construction, while the second $1 million went to pediatric research.
Participants are able to enter the inner sanctum of Iowa football for the ultimate Hawkeye experience, while meeting Hawkeye players and coaches. Campers are able to win exclusive, authentic Iowa football prizes.
The LFA special guest is Gary Dolphin, long-time radio voice of Iowa football and basketball. Dolphin and Ferentz will conduct a meet-and-greet with photos as part of the rotation throughout the day.
Ladies are able to learn the game while participating in skills and drills and enjoying a behind-the-scenes look into where and how the Hawkeyes train. Participants experience the excitement and energy inside the Black & Gold locker room and the rush of swarming the Kinnick Stadium playing field to the sound of “Back in Black.”
The 2019 honorary captain is 28-year-old Jackie Montour from Carlisle, Iowa. Jackie became a patient at the age of 14 with heart problems and received a heart transplant at the age of 18. She has persevered through many complications due to her heart issues.
LFA has pledged the next $1 million to endow a fulltime Child Life Specialist. The highly-trained specialists take care of the development and emotional needs of hospitalized children, from distraction techniques during scare and painful procedures to daily play activities, while also providing support and respite to parents. This Child Life Therapy is 100 percent funded by philanthropy.
All money raised by Ladies Football Academy participants benefits the Stead Family Children’s Hospital. UI Children’s Hospital has been dedicated to meeting the health care needs of children and families since 1919. As the only comprehensive children’s hospital in Iowa, and the only one in Iowa ranked nationally for pediatric care, UI Children’s Hospital provides care for children from birth to young adulthood. Services range from promoting wellness to the care of general childhood illness, surgery, traumatic injuries, life-threatening and chronic illnesses, and developmental disabilities. UI Children’s Hospital is also home to Iowa’s only Level 4 NICU, as designated by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
As part of an academic medical center, the Stead Family Children’s Hospital also performs groundbreaking research to help solve the mysteries of childhood diseases, in addition to training the next generation of health care professionals.
For more information, and to sign up for Ladies Football Academy, click HERE.
