Young Achiever profile

Teen starts unique soccer "passback" program

Alex Kehm of Fenton was attending a soccer tournament when he saw a billboard promoting a program for collecting used soccer equipment. The items were then donated to kids who couldn't afford to buy new.

Fourteen-year-old Alex, a soccer player, said to himself, "I can do that."

Alex Kehm

He contacted the worldwide organization and found there wasn't any chapter in the St. Louis area. So, he got a charter to start Fenton Passback.

Last fall, he had a booth at a soccer tournament where he collected donations of used equipment. The booth netted some 300 items.

He donated the items to the Matthews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club and to the national Passback organization. He's also collected additional equipment which was sent to kids in Honduras and South Africa.

This fall, he's planning to another collection booth at an area soccer tournament. "I have a goal of collecting 1,000 pieces of equipment this year," he said.

Alex Kehm and the Fenton Passback

Alex's initiative with Fenton Passback was one of the things that attracted judges for the 2008 Gateway Young Achievers program. Last spring, Alex was one of 10 area kids selected for the 2008 award.

The 10 winners each received a $1,000 savings bond and are entered in the national Young Achiever competition. Winners are picked for achievements in school, extra-curricular activities and community service.

(After announcing the winners in May, Young Saint Louis.com is writing a series of profiles of the elementary and middle school winners. This is the 4th in the series of profiles.

(For past profiles of 2008 winners, click on Past Stories and visit the June, July and August editions.)

Alex and Flynn Kehm donating shoes

To promote his first Fenton Passback collection, Alex designed and printed flyers, shirts and business cards to be handed out at the soccer tournament.

Alex said he decided to donate some of the used equipment to kids in Honduras because one of his aunts works there. He said, "My aunt is a soccer coach and she goes to Honduras to help kids. She's the one who first got me interested in soccer."

He said he's already received a request from a minister in South Africa, asking if he was going to have another collection this year.

(If you'd like to know more about Fenton Passback or the international Passback program, you can visit www.fentonpassback.com and www.passback.org.)

Alex plays for the Fenton Fire select soccer team. His team won first in the West County Division of the soccer league. He is a mid-fielder, taking part in both the defense and offense on the field.

About his team, he said, "We had lots of good players this year."

Alex said he plans to try out for soccer this fall at Rockwood Summit High School. He'll be a 9th grader there.

Soccer is just one of a number of activities Alex hopes to continue in high school.

He was a co-captain of his Rockwood South Middle School basketball team both in 7th and 8th grades. He plans to try out for basketball in high school.

"I haven't been picked yet but I've gone to all of the summer camps," he said.

He also was a member of his middle school's cross-country team.

His activities involve more than sports.

He was a member of both the middle school and honors orchestras last year. His instrument is the viola. He said he's already been accepted for the high school orchestra.

Alex said, "My two 'dream' jobs would be as a professional musician or as a teacher of musicians."

But, he's got a Plan B if the music professions don't work. He plans to major in marine biology in college. He said he likes all aspects of marine biology, all the way from working in an aquarium to studying marine life in oceans.

Alex was a member of the student council for three years at his middle school. In 8th grade, he was picked as an officer within the council. He said the council served as liaison between the students and the school's administration.

One of the problems they faced last year was when the school administration vetoed plans for a school dance. "The administration said we couldn't hold the dance because there wasn't enough money," he said.

The student council finally got the dance approved after it worked on fund-raisers to earn the money to fund the dance, he said.

Alex has maintained good grades during his school years. He said, "I earned a 3.75 GPA in 8th grade. That was the lowest that I've ever had in all the years in school." He admitted that math was his toughest class in 8th grade.

He's been involved in advanced curriculum classes. He was selected for the Talented and Gifted Program in grades 2 through 8. He also took part in Stretch classes for talented kids in middle school.

His work with the Fenton Passback program earned Alex a couple community service awards. He received the Community Service Award from the Rockwood district.

He also was picked as a Daily Point of Light (Dec. 7, 2007) by the Points of Light Foundation in Washington, D.C. (For more, www.pointsoflight.org/awards/dpol and then enter Fenton, MO in the search boxes.)