A Hockey Swap for Evan

Just more than a year after Evan Soggin the 12-year-old rising hockey star lives on through a charity event his team is now hosting in his honor.

The Evan Soggin Foundation is taking over the annual Skate Swap, hosted by the Reston Raiders Hockey Club of which Soggin was an active and passionate member.

At the beginning of each season, the hockey club hosts a fundraiser where players can swap equipment: "A player can go to the pro-shop and easily spend over $2,000 on equipment; we can fit a player head to toe for under $100," said Nick Soggin, Evan's brother and an organizer of the event. "I got my first full set of gear when I was a kid for $20."

Soggin, who had graduated from Flint Hill Elementary School just before his death, was a year-round player at the club, also participating in summer camps.

Chris Kelly, president of the Reston Raiders Hockey Club, established the The Evan Soggin Foundation last July, just after Evan's death.

In the past year, the foundation has topped $25,000, said Evan's mother, Gyoen Soggin, in an email. About $ 6,000 "has been allocated to underwrite a portion of the baseline concussion testing program for all travel players, fund partial scholarships for four travel players, and four house players," she wrote in an email to Patch.

"We have financed much of the cost for Raiders concussion testing, compliments of Rod Fleck and Microsoft, and we plan to grant an end of the year award to one player who displays exemplary teamwork and outstanding passion for hockey," Soggin wrote.

In addition to the swap, the foundation decided this year to "revamp" the associated activities, Nick Soggin said. They include: a coach dunk tank, snow cones, Graf stick raffle, Raiders catered picnic, equipment cleaning station, and much more.

There will also be special guests, including the Red Rockers Capitals cheerleaders and some GMU hockey players.

"Hockey is an incredible expensive sport and we are here to help," Nick Soggin wrote. "Most importantly, we will be gathering to remember Evan's contributions to hockey, connections with friends, and desire to promote teamwork and sportsmanship."

For more about the event, or to volunteer, go to the Evan Soggin Foundation's page.

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