Dick's Sporting Goods, Cleveland Browns give back to local youth athletes
- Amber Davis
- Dec 7, 2024
- 1 min read
(Amari Smith, 11 tries to help his siter Aymonni Smith, 12 as she looks at Crocs with Cleveland Browns cornerback, Mike Ford Jr. The Elyria Youth Sports kids selected were surprised with the shopping trip, $150 gift cards and a pizza party at the Dicks Sporting Goods store at Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted.) CREDIT: BRUCE BISHOP/CHRONICLE
Kahlef Hailassie reached his hand up to snare a football out of mid-air.
It’s a standard drill for Hailassie, who is a member of the Cleveland Browns. But the football he caught wasn’t thrown by another professional athlete, nor was it thrown on a football field.
The ball was thrown by 10-year-old Jaxon Ruminski, just before he darted through the aisles of Dick’s Sporting Goods at the Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted on Tuesday.
Ruminski was one of 10 young athletes with the Elyria Youth Sports Club who were awarded a night of shopping with Cleveland Browns football players Mike Ford Jr. and Hailassie.
“I play catch at school, but not with an NFL player,” Ruminski said in a bit of disbelief. He plays chess with the Elyria Youth Sports Club.
Each child was given $150 to purchase sporting equipment and anything else they wanted from Dick’s Sporting Goods during the sport club’s Shop With a Pro event at Great Northern Mall.
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