Our ADDIX Coach of the Week is not a coach this time around, but an athletic director!
We are honoring Chris Riker, the athletic director for Portage Northern High School. Mr. Riker started the Justin Bailey Memorial Shootout, a prestigious soccer tournament held in August each year in memory of Justin Bailey. Bailey, a former Portage Northern standout and Hope College soccer player, was killed by a drunk driver in 2011.
Justin Bailey graduated from Portage Northern in 2006 and played soccer for four years at Hope.
Proceeds from the tournament are donated to a local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. MADD is a non-profit that seeks to end drunk driving, and support those who have had their lives negatively impacted by it. This year’s tournament took place August 19th.
Both Portage Northern and Portage Central help stage the tournament each year. The Huskies and Mustangs also won our ADDIX Michigan Football Rivalry Game of the Year, and will be playing in custom ADDIX uniforms they won in tomorrow’s game with eachother (10/6).
Thank you Chris Riker, Portage Northern Soccer, Portage Central Soccer, and the Portage communities for putting together this tournament each year in Justin’s memory.