“This sport has taught me how to be a good teammate, and how to be a good leader.” This how Amelia Clements responded when I asked her, what has field hockey taught you throughout your years playing? Her tone was light and bubbly, and we could have spoken for days over how much this sport has given us. The cafeteria roared with the excitement of kids wanting to get home on that Friday evening. We both look at each other and thought, can people get any louder?
When Amelia thinks about field hockey, Gretta’s image is constantly in the back of her mind. Gretta was Amelia’s field hockey coach during her sophomore year and for the past 6 years she had been diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer. Gretta sadly passed in June of 2025. In honor of Gretta, her sister Emilee Ehret started a foundation called the Dream Crazy Foundation. Emilee’s main goal for the foundation is to empower young athletes by providing access to training, mentorship, and opportunities that help them grow as both players and people.
When I asked Amelia what the foundation means to her, her posture became stiff, and her tone began to quake. The loss of Gretta is constantly being replayed in her thoughts. “This foundation will help teach girls how to be good teammates, become better people, and overall just not take anything for granted,” Clements stated. Amelia’s eyes suddenly become dull after being asked, and the conversation took a pause when we thought about the impact one woman would have on us.
With the start of the foundation, another main goal is grow a space where all youth, especially those who don’t have access to sports, equipment, coaching, or opportunities because of money or life circumstances, can find support. In the city of Philadelphia, only 25% of high schoolers have access to playing on a sports team. Roughly 80% of Philadelphia youth do not meet the recommended physical activity levels, which can lead to poor heart health, and run the risk of diabetes. Barriers to help this issue are the cost, lack of access, and program quality. With the Dream Crazy Foundation, Emilee hopes to lead youth by introducing field hockey, and giving kids an outlet to find something they love and can learn from.
Before Gretta passed, she specifically stated that she didn’t want to be remembered as someone who had cancer. She wanted to be remembered as someone who gave back to the community that shaped the person she was. Gretta had been a teacher in Philadelphia for 20 years, and giving kids opportunities meant the world to her. Gretta’s message of dreaming crazy, and helping kids is finally coming to light, and giving back to the community she called home for over 30 years. Both of Gretta’s passions, staying active and field hockey are now helping kids all throughout the city become the best version of themselves.
Now, the data helps explain why it is necessary to have the youth in Philadelphia stay active, and keep them engaged. With Emilee carrying out Gretta’s vision, the Dream Crazy Foundation is eligible to give kids a chance to play field hockey, and grow as people. “ The Dream Crazy Foundation is excited to launch our first give-back program for the high school girls of Philadelphia”, says Emilee. “We will be offering a free field hockey clinic for more than 50 girls, and they will be given a Dream Crazy Kit that includes a stick, shin guards, and more essential gear to help them get started,” Emilee says with complete and total happiness. Her face lights up as she speaks about the impact Gretta will be leaving for girls in her community. The youth in Philadelphia is the city’s future, and they need to be put on a higher pedestal, so that they can get the resources they deserve. The Dream Crazy Foundation will put kids on a platform where they can have fun while staying fit and learning to love the game of field hockey that gave so much to Gretta and Emilee.
Amelia and I are now back at the cafeteria table, we look at each other, and without even saying a word, we both take a deep breath, holding the tears and memories about Gretta that we carry so deeply with us. Gretta was an inspiration to the entire field hockey community. Gretta worked hard to provide opportunities across all types of communities, and that passion has become the foundation’s heartbeat. The Dream Crazy Foundation will offer access, support, and a pathway forward. It will inspire girls to believe in their potential, and carry the confidence they build on the field and every aspect of their lives.
