Brian Ching, the Houston Dynamo star, has selected 11 local student athletes to help raise awareness about health and fitness and serve as ambassadors for the fight against childhood obesity.

Why 11? That's the number of players on a soccer team, and 11 is Brian Ching's jersey number when he plays on the United States National Team.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for me to give back to the community and to lead by example," says Brian. "The charity that works with THE CHING TEAM tackles issues that need to be addressed and I think child obesity is a dangerous issue. It's something we as adults need to inform and encourage kids to think about."

THE CHING TEAM will kick off the 2007 Gifts with Heart Build-a-Thon on Saturday, November 10, at 10 am, at Lowe's in West Houston. For more details, log on to www.giftswithheart.org.