The Newman University women’s basketball team recently spent some time at Robinson Middle School, playing and visiting with students during recess times.
The activity was arranged as a community engagement opportunity, which is important to the program’s members.
Head Women’s Basketball Coach Darin Spence said, “Our student-athletes serve others and reach out to others. They talked (to the students) about goals and working hard to reach them.”
Team member Kaitlyn Potter said, “Just being around the kids and seeing how much they actually look up to us … is very important to me.”
The team interacted with the students by playing basketball during recess times and talking to them about how they can achieve personal goals they set for themselves.
Team member Bailey Hawkins explained that the fact that she got to be a part of putting smiles on the participating middle school students’ faces while playing basketball with them is what made the afternoon so important to her.
Hawkins said, “Through interacting with our women’s basketball team, the middle-schoolers were able to learn that teamwork is important and that with hard work and dedication, they can achieve their goals.”
The women’s basketball team members have a slogan — people over perfection.
“It is our goal to take care of those in our program while reaching out to others,” Spence said.
