Hines Ward to Present ‘Positive Athlete’ Awards to Three Pine-Richland Students

Three student-athletes from Pine-Richland High School have been voted Western Pennsylvania’s “Most Positive High School Athletes” in their individual sports by Positive Athlete, an organization created by former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward.

Ward will present the awards to senior Matthew Clark (baseball), junior Carrie Leibensperger (gymnastics), senior Grant Goldberg (boys soccer) and 25 other winners from schools around the region in a ceremony April 20 at the Senator John Heinz History Center and Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

“This is the second year for the Positive High School Athlete Awards, and the stories of our nominees continue to amaze me,” Ward said.  “I was always credited with having a positive influence on my team during my days with the Steelers, but the stories I hear about kids like Mathew, Carrie and Grant really inspire me to be a better person.”

In addition to an awards’ certificate signed by Ward, each athlete will take photos with the former Super Bowl MVP and Dancing with the Stars champion and receive an autographed Positive Athlete Dedication T-shirt.

Positive Athlete Pittsburgh and the Positive High School Athlete Awards was created as a movement for more positivity in youth sports.

In addition to excellence on the field, each participating Positive Athlete shares similar characteristics including an optimistic attitude, teammate encouragement, servant leadership, heart for others, ability to admit imperfections, giving 100 percent all the time, and realizing the team as more important than the individual.

More than 170 nominations from 75 different Western Pennsylvania high schools were made in the first of what would become an annual event.

“We did not put out a search for the best athletes in Western Pennsylvania,” Ward said. “We put out a search for kids with positive attitudes whose efforts don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheets. These kids are also positive role models in their schools who get involved in charitable causes, and have already learned the meaning of giving back at an early age.”

Want to congratulate these Pine-Richland athletes? Tell us in the comment section below. 

--Information submitted by Pine-Richland School District. Have news you'd like to share with Patch readers? Email Editor Jessica Sinichak at jessica.sinichak@patch.com or click here to contribute to our "Local Voices section. 

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