Leidos, UAE Ambassador team to promote youth sports
It’s not uncommon to see children running around the grocery store or local park with a Leidos logo on their chest. Leidos sponsors about 2,000 youth sports teams – that’s about 30,000 children who wear a youth jersey with the company’s logo blazed across it each year.
The company does this to help local communities because the physical, emotional, and interpersonal benefits that sports can have on a child are a mighty thing.
According to Stanford Children’s Health, Children who spend time outdoors playing sports are less likely to develop vision problems, obesity, and other challenges. In addition, participation helps develop motor and social skills as well as self-confidence and sportsmanship. Often, sports can have a powerful impact creating a positive trajectory for a child.
One of the organizations the company sponsors is the McLean Youth Soccer (MYS) Program. This coming year marks the fifth year Leidos has supported the organization.
“Together with MYS, we’ve doubled the size of the scholarship program, allowing more kids the opportunity to learn valuable life lessons through youth sports programs,” said Leidos Chairman and CEO Roger Krone. “My children saw the benefits of similar programs – an invaluable thing.”
Recently, Krone partnered with UAE Ambassador to the U.S. His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba to fund a new turf field for MYS, Holladay Field, near Spring Hill Elementary School in McLean. The duo and members of the MYS team recently joined Dranesville District Representative Tim Hackman, Dranesville District Supervisor and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Member John Foust, and Fairfax County Park Authority Executive Director Jai Cole for a ribbon-cutting at the field.
“Holladay Field is more than a soccer field. It’s an investment in the community, an investment in promoting healthy lifestyles, and most importantly, an investment in the generations of families that will grow up playing together there,” said Krone.
