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How The Sudbury Ravens Elevate The Community

05.12.2017

Positive Coaching Alliance partners with athletic organizations who recognize there is more to sports than the game itself.  These leagues, schools, and teams understand the endless procession of life lessons that sports provide its athletes; lessons that deserve to be celebrated, embraced, and applied to other areas of your life long after the game’s final play and far away from the playing field.

The Sudbury Ravens, an AAU baseball team from eastern Massachusetts and a PCA Partner, embody this belief.​

The Ravens appear like most other AAU baseball teams. They have a dedicated coach and talented ballplayers who love to play the game.  However, this is only a small part of what it means to be a Raven.

Alan Mednick founded the Ravens with the goal of raising awareness and funds for suicide prevention, while also creating a supportive culture for his team. Alan lost his teenage daughter, Raven, to suicide four years ago.

According to the CDC, nearly 1 in 5 teenagers have experienced suicidal thoughts in the past year. Alan and PCA share in the belief that sports can serve as a positive vehicle in a teenager’s life, particularly during those challenging and often rollercoaster teenage years. Sports can provide a steady and confidence building apparatus that is very much needed.

In March, the Ravens and their parents participated in a workshop with PCA Trainer and US Olympian Julia Beasley. Beasley, a national champion rower, discussed with the program what it means to be a Triple-Impact Competitor; the gold standard for an athlete who strives to impact the game for oneself, one’s teammates, and the game as a whole.

The Ravens continue to strive for this goal, while also raising awareness for a disease that affects far too many families. They, in fact, not only honor the game on the baseball diamond, but also aim to elevate the lives of those in the community.


PCA-New England's partnership with the Sudbury Ravens was most recently highlighted in the Wicked Local: Sudbury Ravens baseball team raising awareness