Minnesota Ripknees Will Have A Special 13th Man For ABA Opener

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MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com - MINNEAPOLIS, MN - The ABA’s Minnesota Ripknees have announced Former Gopher and Green Bay Packers RB Darrell Thompson as their 13th man for the Ripknees first home game.

Darrell Thompson’s name will be forever associated with his glory days as a star running back for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Green Bay Packers. Today however, it is as Executive Director of Bolder Options, Inc., that Thompson is making his mark working to help at-risk youth develop their self-esteem and achieve positive new life skills.

"I know that as a kid, being involved in sports helped keep me out of trouble," says Thompson, whose organization uses athletic-related activities such as running and biking to bring youth together with their adult mentors. A natural athlete who excelled at several sports himself, Thompson sees his role today as providing the foundation by which at-risk youth can learn to develop positive life skills and enhanced self-esteem by working on athletic-based goals. "We teach our kids that they can sets goals for themselves and achieve them," says Thompson. "And we also show them that there are other adults who care about them and want to help them succeed."