BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Mountain Hawks continued with their efforts to reach out to the community this past week by speaking and interacting with students at a pair of local middle schools. The Lehigh men’s and women’s basketball teams recently visited Nitschmann Middle School and Saucon Valley Middle School to speak to the students on subjects such as respect, commitment, teamwork and work ethic, among other topics, to stress what it takes to succeed on and off the court.
The players and coaches spoke on behalf of the true student-athlete experience to the children, answering questions and helping the students learn what life is like as a collegiate student-athlete. The teams started with an assembly-type setting, but transitioned into a fun learning experience for the kids which included a question and answer session directed at both teams, a knock-out contest and prizes awarded to students who demonstrated the acknowledgement of the messages delivered by the two programs.
"I remember when I was in middle school, it meant a lot to me to have older people speak to us, especially athletes because most of these kids are interested in sports at this age," said senior forward Sarah Pearce. "It brings value to these kids to give them perspective on what they can be when they grow up."
The Lehigh players had a chance to sit down and spend time getting to know the students, teaching them how to become better students and also how their hard work had paid off on and off the court.
"It’s feels really good to give back to the community," said senior forward Holden Greiner. "This past year we’ve really felt that the fans have been coming out stronger. We appreciate that and we want to be able to give back to the kids and teach them how hard work can pay off and that it is not only about sports, it’s about being respectful, good kids and great in the classroom."
The two programs will be back in action on Saturday when the women travel to Holy Cross for a 1 p.m. tip, while the men host the Crusaders at 2 p.m. inside Stabler Arena in what will be each team’s Patriot League opener.