West York honors Amanda Strous' legacy
The fourth annual “Kilts for a Cause Game” has some extra meaning for the West York field hockey team.
The Bulldogs put on the game every year to raise money for a worthy cause and play a friendly game against another West York athletics team. This year the field hockey team hosted the boys’ soccer team Wednesday, while raising nearly $1,000 for the Amanda Strous scholarship fund.
Strous, 27, was murdered in her North Carolina home on June 18, nearly a month before her wedding. Since the tragedy the Strous family has set up a scholarship in Amanda’s honor and they have received a plethora of support from the surrounding community.
Field hockey player Alyssa Boyer and soccer player Robert Bigelow organized the event as part of their graduation project. It was also their way of supporting Crystal Strous, the mother of Amanda Strous who is a teacher in the West York School District.
“Having Mrs. Strous as a teacher and knowing how much it means to her, it made me want to do it a lot more,” Alyssa Boyer.
Bigelow added: “I think that was the biggest thing, knowing Mrs. Strous as a teacher. Knowing her back story, it meant a lot more. It meant doing something good.”
Several of the West York players and coaches approached Crystal Strous about honoring Amanda and raising money for the scholarship in early September. During Wednesday’s game, T-shirts with Amanda’s No. 22 on the back were sold along with items that were being raffled off.
“It’s very comforting, very humbling to see all these people spreading her light,” said Crystal Strous, who attended the event. “Sharing her spirit with fundraisers towards her scholarship. I’ve had a lot kids message me and just say such kind things. It’s very heartwarming. It’s very comforting.”
The game has been held in years past, with the field hockey team challenging the baseball team and football team previously. The field hockey team defeated the boys’ soccer team, 3-2, in penalty strokes on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs soccer team enjoyed the chance to learn and understand the game of field hockey a little bit more.
“I didn’t even know what was going on half the time,” Bigelow said. “Just learning it throughout makes me appreciate field hockey a little bit more because I didn’t know what was actually going on.”
More importantly it was a chance for two West York athletic teams to come together and support a member of the West York community.
“It shows that we’re all a family, like a Bulldog family,” Boyer said. “We’re all here for each other. It was a good time.”
The support that from the community has meant a lot to the Strous family over the last few months. The Strous family has received support not just locally, but also from high school and college field hockey teams across the country, Crystal Strous said.
“I think (Amanda) is really smiling upon all of the community,” Crystal Strous said, “and really happy to know that we’re being surrounded by so much love and so many people to help us get through the situation.”