This month, the Affton Education Association (AEA) held its first kickball tournament. The goal was to bring teachers, administrators and support staff together in order to raise money for Tim Hill — an Affton High School coach and social studies teacher who is on the road to recovery after a car crash.

In the end, approximately 45 people attended the kickball tournament, which cost $30 to play. That money was donated to Hill, along with contributions from other Affton employees who could not attend. Altogether, they raised $2,000 to aid in Hill’s recovery.

“Tim is a part of AEA, and with his recent accident, we came together and organized this event for him,” AEA president Tony Muyco said.

The tournament took place on May 8 from 4 – 8 p.m. at Blackburn Park in Webster Groves. Donations were made by various members and family members of the Affton community: Retired NFL linebacker and AHS alum Markus Golden donated T-shirts, while Gary Dohle and Jeff Mesplay donated refreshments.

The group ordered pizza, and each player was even able to submit a walk-up song to play before they got up to kick. There were several rounds, where each building of the district faced each other. Each team consisted of 10-12 players.

“The main objective of our association is to support one another in times of needs and challenges,” Muyco said. “With Tim’s accident, we just had an idea of making (the event) fun and having the buildings …  together.”

Rogers Middle School and Gotsch Intermediate School went head-to-head in the championship, but Rogers came out on top. Staff from the middle school received a trophy that they could take back to the building to display.

“If something like this happened with a teacher, or students also, the Affton community — especially our educators, our teachers — they find something to help out anyone in need,” Muyco said.