Former Washington Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner and his wife Mandy both know the benefits of playing sports, but they’re also aware of the roadblocks.
“There’s adversity, there’s challenges that you have to be able to overcome,” Karl said. “You also are put on a team with tons of different types of kids, some that are similar to you (and) some that are different.”
The couple, who moved back to the D.C. area a few years ago, has three children — 9-year-old Stella, 7-year-old Anson and 5-year-old Bennett — so they know how expensive it can be to enroll kids in sports programs.
“The fees for sports these days are astronomical,” Karl said. “If we’re second guessing putting our kids into something because of the cost, you have to imagine that there’s quite a lot of people that are also doing the same thing, and don’t want them to miss out.”
They’re launching The Alzner Foundation to encourage more children and teenagers to play sports by providing resources, equipment and opportunities.
“We want everybody to be able to play, no matter where you’re from, your background, your economic situation,” Mandy said.
Sports are a great way to get people to “put their devices down and get a little face-to-face contact, which I think is really helpful for kids these days,” Mandy said.
Tickets are now on sale for their first event, “Swing into Summer” — a celebrity home run derby and slow pitch softball game at Capital One Park in Tysons, Virginia, on June 1.
“We’ve been put into a very fortunate situation where we can help by using our voice and some of the resources that we have,” Karl said. “People that have been given so much should try and give back.”
The event will benefit two D.C. organizations: Leveling The Playing Field, which collects and redistributes sports gear to underserved communities, and So Kids Soar, which provides free adaptive athletic programs for children with developmental and physical disabilities.
“I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to play sports as a kid, and we just want to give that opportunity to other kids,” Mandy said.
The Alzners live in McLean and said it was a priority to get involved in the D.C. community because of their love for the area.
“The sports fans here are passionate, and they’re great fans,” Mandy said. “It’s nice for us to be able to get out there and support them, because they supported us for so long.”
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