The Marshall University Athletic Department is having the 18th Annual Sweetheart Clinic 9:30 a.m. Saturday in the Chris Cline Athletic Complex Indoor Athletic Facility.

The clinic is a free event open to girls ages 4-12.

The Sweetheart Clinic began in 1998 in recognition of National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Since its inception, more than 2,000 girls have participated with the opportunity to learn developmental skills in nine women’s sports.

Each year the Sweetheart Clinic is made possible at Marshall through loyal partners, who have an appreciation for the Herd and National Girls and Women in Sports Day event. Sponsors and companies including Sodexo, Colonial Lanes, Papa Johns, Marshall Surgery, AMP Gymnastics, Valley Health, WV WIC Program, Marshall OB/GYN, Marshall Family Medicine and Signs Unlimited helped to make the clinic a possibility this year.

Former Marshall volleyball player Samantha Bane said the clinic is rewarding.

“The Sweetheart Clinic is a great way to get involved with the young aspiring athletes in the Huntington community,” Bane said. “I remember how I was when I was a kid, and having the opportunity to give back by teaching girls about the sport I love is extremely rewarding.”

Participants will be divided into age groups and will rotate through nine different stations, learning developmental sports skills from each of the Marshall’s women’s sports coaches and student athletes. In addition to developmental skill instruction, participants will receive a free t-shirt.

Assistant Marshall volleyball coach Taylor Strickland said the girls really enjoy the clinic. “It is a great way to get them interested in sports and to be active,” Strickland said. “They truly enjoy hanging out with all of the student-athletes because they look at them as role models.”

Check-in for participants will last from 9-9:30 a.m. in the indoor facility. The clinic will begin promptly at 9:30 a.m. After the clinic, participants will have a pizza party and a Marshall cheerleader-led pep rally in the Cam Henderson Center. Participants will then be invited to attend the Marshall women’s basketball game versus University of Alabama at Birmingham with free admission at 1 p.m.

Family members and visitors of participants may purchase a ticket to the women’s basketball game at the clinic for $3.

Jill Shemanski can be contacted at [email protected].