Presentation of Adam Van’t Hof College Scholarship
The family of Adam Van’t Hof and the Tonka United Soccer Association are proud to present the twentieth annual Adam Van’t Hof Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship is given in memory of Adam Van’t Hof who died in May of 2000. Adam was a soccer player for many years on Tonka United’s Premier and Classic teams, as well as a four-year Minnetonka High Soccer player.
Criteria for the $1000 scholarship include: commitment to the game of soccer, leadership skills, scholarship need, demonstration of a strong work ethic, extracurricular involvement, teamwork, and achievement in their role beyond expectations. A Tonka United panel judged candidates and made the selection.
This year two recipients were selected to receive scholarships: Katelyn Hermanson and Grace Robinson.
Katelyn Hermanson has played soccer in the Tonka United program for 9 years and grown from a low point of being cut on her U12 team to captain of her U19 Premier team. She credits the lows as her greatest learning opportunity and emphasizes her improvement largely occurred through hard work. That hard work, teamwork, and leadership helped bring back to back Splash titles, a 2013 state championship, team promotion to Premier level, and a USA Cup victory.
Katelyn has been a referee in Tonka United’s recreational and travel programs. She also became a recreational skills soccer coach the last 2 years and became the first female pickup soccer coach at Lifetime Sports’ Edina facility.
Off the field, Katelyn volunteers 4 hours a week at Fairview Southdale Hospital, played in high school band, and participated in Unified Special Olympics. With teammates, Katelyn traveled to Nicaragua teaching soccer to girls from a poor, rural community. The trip gave her a sense of appreciation for our American luxuries and she gained real satisfaction watching her girls grow in skills and confidence.
Academically Katelyn was also a star, achieving a 3.61 unweighted GPA at Minnetonka High School. She was a member of National Honor Society and will pursue a degree in Finance at Indiana University.
Grace Robinson has been playing soccer with Tonka United since she was 10 and was also a referee. Grace‘s love of the game and her perseverance in overcoming obstacles has allowed her to grow from a U11C3 team in 5thgrade to the top U18 premier team. Her leadership and willingness to put team first has made her the ultimate team player.
Talk about overcoming adversity, Grace overcame a torn ACL in 9thgrade that required reconstructive surgery and a 10-month recovery. During that recovery she remained committed to the team, shagging balls at practice, observing drills and discussing strategy with the coach. Grace credits this time as developing her game IQ. Then in the fall of 2019, Grace suffered a medial meniscus tear. After surgery the rehab required long immobilization and extensive physical therapy. However, she returned strongly to play in the President’s Day 2020 Tournament in Phoenix.
For her off field work, Grace has earned four Presidential Service Awards and letters in community service during high school. Like Katelyn, Grace also traveled to Nicaragua to teach soccer to girls from a poor, rural community. She has looked for ways to incorporate soccer into her service to others, and embodies the commitment, excellence and leadership qualities our scholarship desires.
Grace achieved a 3.2 GPA at Minnetonka High School. She will attend Carthage College where she will study Business Management and Spanish. Grace will continue to play soccer at the D3 level.
Grace Robinson and Katelyn Hermanson’s leadership skills, commitment to soccer, and work ethic make them excellent recipients of our award. The Van’t Hof family and Tonka United Soccer Association are pleased to award the twentieth annual Adam Van’t Hof Scholarships to Grace Robinson and Katelyn Hermanson.
View the scholarship criteria and application