BEAVERCREEK — Adam Smith was an avid volleyball player. So it’s only fitting that his family members are holding the Mouse Memorial Volleyball Tournament in his memory.
“We played on a volleyball team together, a sand volleyball team,” said Beavercreek resident and tournament organizer Ashton Smith, Adam’s brother-in-law. “He played in high school. He was a pretty good player.”
A Springfield native, Adam Smith — known as Mouse by his friends and family members — died August 2017 after a battle with post-traumatic stress disorder. He served a pair of stints in Iraq with the Army and was just 32 years old when he died.
The tournament will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18 at Scene 75 in Dayton. That’s a significant date as it’s just a few days away from the anniversary of Smith’s death.
“The family needs to be together on that day,” Smith said.
It started out as a tournament just for Adam’s family members, but Smith said it’s open to the public. They are hoping for 12 teams, but Smith said they can accommodate more. The cost is $300 per team. No more than 10 players will be allowed per team and each team must have at least two women. Each player will receive a Mouse Memorial T-shirt. The rest of the proceeds will be donated to the Northeast Ohio Foundation for Patriotism (NEOPAT) — a volunteer organization which enhances the support systems available to local military personnel and their families.
Modern Woodmen is matching all donations up to $2,500.
“Our hope is that in our celebration of his spirit, we can raise money that will help veteran’s and their families struggling under the same weight that Adam carried,” the registration website said.
Items from various businesses including the Dayton Dragons will be given away via raffle.
Registration and complete rules can be found at http://www.scene75.com/mmvt.
