Marlins to paddle in honor of coach




They love their coach.

A group of Port Aransas High School Marlins basketball team players plan to compete in a charity event in honor of their coach, Joe Kocurek. The boys will compete in the annual Paddle for Parkinson’s event to raise money to fight Parkinson’s Disease.

Kocurek has the disease.

The paddle race will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 1, at Billish Park, on North Padre Island.

The Port Aransas boys will compete in the race’s tandem division, which puts them in a two-man kayak that will be paddled a total of six miles in a relay race.

Any “physically motored vessel” can be used in the race. That includes kayaks, stand-up paddle boards and similar vessels, said Mona Singleterry, one of the event’s organizers.

Folks who’d like to donate to the Port Aransas team can do so by contacting Marnie Pate at (361) 460-0250. Pate’s son, Tyler, is a team member, but Pate is collecting donations for the entire team.

Other team members are Jake Roberts, Chase Chambers, Chase Gustafson, Blake Goodwin, Nick Maxham, Caleb Rogers and Austin Scott.

Checks should be made payable to Catch the Cure. Donors can get receipts for tax purposes.

The overall event will last from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. In addition to the race, Paddle for Parkinson’s will include live music, drawings, door prizes and barbecue plates being sold for $10 a plate.

Last year’s event raised more than $12,000 that went to the National Parkinson Foundation.

The PAHS Marlins basketball team last year raised $1,100 and won first place in its division. The team’s goal is $2,000 this year.

This year, Paddle for Parkinson’s organizers are going to try to use some of the money collected to help local Parkinson’s sufferers who might have a hard time affording medications, Singleterry said. The money also could be used for scholarships to take classes in Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s pharmacy department, she said.



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