2009 AT&T National Sportsmanship Awards
2009 Award Winners
DULUTH, Minn. – Former Dakota Country Technical College and current St. Scholastica men's soccer player #Geofrey Kalanzi# (
Jr.-Eden Prairie, Minn.) will receive the prestigious National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Lea Plarski Award.
The Plarski Award is handed out annually by the NJCAA to the student-athlete who exemplifies sportsmanship, leadership, community service and academic excellence, coupled with athletic ability and achievement.
Kalanzi has overcome many obstacles in his life. The Kampala, Uganda, native lost both of his parents to AIDS at the age of 13. This left him and his siblings homeless, hungry and alone.
Things turned for the better when they met David and Aimee Kyambadde. David was a local Ugandan born outside Kampala, while Aimee was a U.S. citizen from Minnesota. The Kyambadde's warmly welcomed the children into their newly built Home Again Orphanage and taught them life lessons such as self-respect and responsibility.
Aimee Kyambadde met Dakota County Technical College coach Cam Stoltz while on a return trip to her native Minnesota. From this meeting, Kalanzi and his brother Moses were awarded scholarships to play soccer at DCTC.
On the soccer field, Kalanzi voluntarily moved to goalkeeper during his first season in 2007 after the team was plagued with injuries. He covered goal in 21 games with 171 saves and allowed an average of 2.29 goals per game. His unselfish commitment to the team earned him the Blue Knight Award, DCTC's highest athletic honor.
Kalanzi went back to his more familiar position of midfielder in 2008 and excelled. He had 18 points with seven goals and four assists. Kalanzi also was named Academic All-Region both of his years on campus with a 3.91 cumulative G.P.A.
In addition to his efforts on the field and in the classroom, Kalanzi works tirelessly to educate others about widespread poverty and the devastating effects of AIDS on his homeland.
Kalanzi is now furthering his education at the College of St. Scholastica. The Business Marketing major plans to ultimately return to Uganda to start his own orphanage. This season for the CSS men's soccer team he played in 18 games and scored one of the prettier goals of the season against Presentation College.
The 2009 AT&T Sportsmanship Awards will take place on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis, Mo. Award recipients from Major League Baseball, NCAA, NAIA, National High School Federation, NASPE and the NJCAA will be honored. In addition, other individuals who were involved in the best sportsmanship moments also will be honored. The St. Louis Rams, Cardinals and Blues also will honor their sportsmen of the year.
Some notable honorees include St. Louis Cardinals All-Star Albert Pujols, the New York Yankees Baseball Organization, and the Ohio State University.
For the first time, the AT&T National Sportsmanship Awards will air on CBS College Sports. The first broadcast will be on the CBS College Sports Network on Wednesday, December 16th at 8 p.m. It will air eight more times after that in the month of December. Check your local listings.
