Benefits on both sides

When the University of Idaho men’s basketball team visited the fifth-graders at Moscow’s Russell Elementary on Monday, it was hard to tell who was having more fun.

The considerable difference in height did not stop the children from challenging the towering players to games of basketball, tetherball and four-square on the school’s playground.

The UI players were more than happy to oblige during what’s become a new tradition for the elementary school and the team.

UI coach Alex Pribble said these visits are part of a program called College Headed and Making Progress (CHAMPS). He said it is the brainchild of former Eastern Washington University coach Jim Hayford, under whom Pribble used to work.

Pribble wanted to instill this program in Moscow and approached Russell Elementary with the concept.

“The foundational idea is to build strong relationships with some of the younger members of our community and encourage them to value their education,” he said.

Before recess, the players meet with the students in a classroom during the lunch period.

They explore talking points created by Pribble, while the players and students ask each other questions.

UI player Terren Frank, a redshirt junior, said on Monday they talked about the children’s favorite classes, what they want for Christmas, and about their family holiday traditions.

He said the students often ask him about basketball, and they enjoy talking to each other about their lives.

Pribble said this relationship between the players and students is mutually beneficial. The students are being encouraged to value their education and develop positive habits in school, while the players can have a positive influence on the community.

“In a community like this where it’s so tight-knit, you see a lot of the same people over and over again, we want to make sure that our young men are role models and are leaders in the community,” Pribble said.

Principal Marianne Sletteland said CHAMPS allows students to develop relationships with people they normally would not interact with. She said the children were so enamored by these conversations that they missed part of their recess the last time the players visited.

Sletteland said she hopes the players’ experience as college students and athletes will inspire the children to “do more than they think they can do.”

The players love it, too

“This is my favorite, are you kidding me?” said redshirt sophomore Jack Hatten.

Hatten said his teammates love talking to the children, asking them about what they are learning in school and answering questions about what it’s like to be in college.

“(We) just kind of get to pick each other’s brains,” he said.

Hatten said he even invited one of the students’ family to a recent basketball game.

Pribble said the players visit the students on average twice a month, and he hopes to do it more frequently when the basketball season ends. He wants to continue this program into the future, so that the players can create a long-lasting effect.

“They have a little bit of a platform that they can use to help others,” he said.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.