The Growth of Golden Buddies
Future Looks Bright for Special Clinic
Participation Increase Over 500% Since '23 Launch
BERKELEY -- When Matthew Cindric returned to Cal this summer to attend the Golden Buddies Football Clinic for the first time since its inaugural edition in 2023, he was quite pleased.
"It has grown in ways that I couldn't have even imagined," said Cindric, a former Cal offensive lineman who co-founded the event in the summer of 2023 with Cal football teammate Myles Williams. The event was created in collaboration with the Cameron Institute, Exceptional Sports and the Special Olympics of Northern California to engage students ages 6-13 with and without intellectual disabilities for a day of football drills and sports education.
At the first Golden Buddies in 2023, about 30-40 kids showed up to participate, along with a handful of Cal football players that Cindric and Williams recruited to serve as their instructors. Cindric — who brought the idea to the Cameron Institute Community Engagement Pillar within Cal Athletics with the hopes of making a long-lasting impact on the community he loves — was happy to get Golden Buddies off the ground more than three years ago But he is ecstatic with the way it has taken off since. The number of participants has grown by more than 500% with more than 200 kids in attendance and over half of the team's 105-player roster — including event captains, organizers and hosts Alonzo Esparza, B.J. Jones and Bastian Swinney — willing to volunteer on a rare off Saturday.
"The event was amazing," Cal quarterback and volunteer Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele said. "It was great to give back to the kids and see them enjoy their time. Seeing a smile on their face made everything 10 times better. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to be out there."
"It's been incredible to see that growth and how much the community and so many people at Cal have rallied behind the idea," Cindric said. "The event has received so much support from so many different people who really believe in it."
