Partners for Parks Helps Charlotte Flights Athletes Run for Their Dreams

Finding the college of your dreams can be hard, and then getting accepted is another hurdle to jump. Matthew Garrett knows that challenge well.

“Matthew always wanted to go to LSU,” says his father, Michael Garrett. “He started reaching out to schools as a freshman.”

Matthew wanted a school that would support his pre-medicine studies, but he also wanted to compete for the school’s track and field team in his best events, the 110 and 400 hurdles. He had started running competitively when he was 10, and he wanted to follow the next step in the journey. Michael and Tamika say that with the help of his coaches at Charlotte Flights Track and Field Club, Matthew was able to narrow down his choices to 10 schools.

“He just got excited about Columbia,” says Michael. “He signed his ‘likely letter’ in February.” A ‘likely letter’ is like a national letter of intent signed by most college-bound athletes, except it’s for Ivy League schools. Since the Ivy’s don’t offer athletic scholarships, Columbia offered Matthew an attractive aid package that helped seal the deal.

“He’s very excited!” beams Michael. “Coach AJ and Coach Larry and Coach Nigel were very instrumental in helping Matt along the way, giving the right guidance, and what to look for in a college academically and athletically.”

Matthew joins a long list of Charlotte Flights athletes who have trained and competed locally at the track and field club as youth, but have developed into college-level scholars and athletes. Since 1993, more than 250 Charlotte Flights track & field athletes have moved on to college with some form of academic and/or athletic scholarships.

This year alone, nearly a half-dozen Charlotte Flights athletes have signed to compete for college teams next year — joining around a dozen from the year before. A scroll through the Charlotte Flights Instagram page reveals smiling faces on signing days for NC State, Appalachian State, UNC-Wilmington, and beyond the Carolinas. You might even spy a collegiate football player or two! Many more have continued on to higher education without competing.

Partners for Parks knows the benefits of sports and activities for youth, which is why they have been a supporter of Charlotte Flights for more than 20 years. Partners for Parks assists the team with scholarships for those who need it, and helps with travel and equipment expenses. Part of Breathing Life Into Our Community is making opportunities with teams like Charlotte Flights available to youth who might not be able to afford the fees and travel otherwise.

“It gives kids opportunities to discipline themselves, mentally and physically,” says Partners for Park board member and Assistant Treasurer Alvin Woods, a longtime Charlotte Flights supporter and its former President. “It gives them an outlet for health, fitness, and wellness — and potential for scholarship opportunities.”

The discipline of training, along with the camaraderie of teammates, is a great motivator for kids, says Woods. And travel to out-of-town meets — many held at college campuses — is essential for teaching kids that higher education is not beyond their reach.

“Kids can see that college kids are just regular people like them,” says Woods. “It allows kids to expand their idea of the opportunities, of what’s out there in this world.”

The goal of Charlotte Flights, since its beginning, has been to nurture the whole child, not just the athlete, says its President, LeBraun Evans.

“We love children. Our focus has always been on the track, and the talent beyond the track,” says Evans. A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer, Evans has been with Charlotte Flights since the very beginning as a volunteer in partnership with the Police Athletic League. He started out driving the PAL van for his little sister, who trained with Charlotte Flights. He watched her, and other children after her, grow into strong young adults under the care and mentoring of Charlotte Flights coaches.

“They’ve grown up with us,” says Evans. “We develop relationships and mentor, and maintain that long after they’re gone.” Evans says Partners for Parks has been one of Charlotte Flights’ most steadfast contributors over the years, in getting kids out in open space and exercise, and healthy lifestyles

The structure and social connections were especially important this year, with so many changes because of the pandemic. Teammates broke into small groups of 10 around the county with volunteers to observe group limits. Coaches emailed workouts for kids to do and parents to encourage. They still haven’t returned to their home track at Johnson C. Smith University. But as a family, they persevere.

Matthew’s family moved to Florida in the middle of his junior year, but he still kept in touch with his coaches about training and college. They helped him keep up his momentum — even if it meant running sprints in his new apartment parking lot under the hot Florida sun! Eventually, he was allowed to join training with the football team at his new high school. The skills and focus he learned at Charlotte Flights kept his goals in sight during difficult times — and gave him another shoulder to lean on.

“Flights have given him a family outside of family,” says Tamika Garrett.

The “family” has a long tradition in Charlotte since Coach Larry and Coach Nigel were also Charlotte Flights alumni who had competed in college. They helped Matthew navigate the sometimes-tricky recruiting process by guiding him with what to look for academically and athletically, and what questions to ask. Michael and Tamika are grateful for all of it.

“The program itself helped us create a responsible adult,” says Tamika. “It’s always great as a parent to have someone for your kids to talk to, more than just as parents.”

And now, great things lie ahead for Matthew and the other Flights athletes heading off to college next year. Tamika knows her son is prepared, in more ways than one.

“He’s looking so forward to it,” says Tamika, “that he already bought his coat!”

Good luck Matthew!