Being an athlete is no easy feat. Faced with hours of afterschool practice along with heavy workload from AP and Honors classes, athletes quickly learn the importance of discipline, hard work and dedication. West Ranch Athletic Director Mr. Grant Livermont saw potential in these athletes’ character and abilities for something outside of competitive games and grueling exercise: inspiring the students at Oak Hills Elementary School. Once a month on Wednesdays, this new program invites selected Wildcat athletes to visit classrooms and encourage key values in students.
With initial thoughts in mind from the previous year, Mr. Livermont has steadily worked on getting the program established over the last year. After coordinating logistics with West Ranch Principal Mr. Robert Fisher and Oak Hills Principal Mr. Jarrod Henry, the idea took fruition this year. “Athletes lead the way, in my opinion,” Mr. Livermont explained, “You know, we have really good students across the campus, but athletes are people who everybody connects to.”
On Wednesday, Oct. 15th, the athletes met at West Ranch at 7 a.m. before walking down to Oak Hills Elementary School together. Upon arriving, they helped to open car doors for the children being dropped off for school, stationing the main entrance gate and greeting students as they walked into the school.
West Ranch junior Alenna Cantu and senior Savannah Patton shared their reasons for wanting to participate in the event. Patton, with four siblings herself, is already experienced with kids and enjoys getting to know them. As for Cantu, she also enjoys meeting the young students. Cantu believes the program “shows kids that you can be a leader as well as be able to do a lot of sports at school.”
Once the bell rang and students were in their classes, the athletes made their appearances in the classrooms. With three to four wildcats per class, the competitors held discussions about achieving as student athletes, helped with math and played games with the students.
The wildcats heavily emphasized sportsmanship and grades as their keys to success. “Good grades is a focal point if you want to be successful because it can set you up for so many great opportunities with or without your sport,” Varsity Basketball Captain Alessandro Matera explained, “On the sportsmanship side of things, it can also just apply as a life lesson, sports aside.” These foundations that they have built their success upon is what they hoped stuck with the students they talked to.
A few of our wildcats were able to collaborate with the students during math. They helped the students work through challenging concepts while keeping them focused on the problem before them. Their work and initiative in this time embodied the fundamental aspects of being a leader that they learned through their time in sports, which reflected back to their younger peers. “We got to teach them what a leader should do,” Patton commented, “They should be there for them, help out whoever needs it.”
Beyond just talking to the kids in the classroom, some athletes stepped outside and participated in games with the kids. Physically interacting with the younger children will, hopefully, help the elementary students see the athletes as familiar faces that they have shared experiences with, rather than distant figures.
As much as this connection helped the younger students, it also helped our wildcats understand what it means to be leaders. One hope that Mr. Livermont had from this event was to develop a greater sense of leadership in the athletes. “These are our captains that we currently have on our teams, and they have already shown the leadership qualities, but this is branching and expanding it even more,” he explained. As leaders of the West Ranch, these athletes stepped up to be a role model for the younger students who look up to them.
The event also heightened school pride within the athletes. Matera recalls that his favorite part of the event was being able to bring happiness to the children. “The joy that lit up in their faces and the excitement they got when we showed up was definitely something to be proud of.”
In the future, Mr. Livermont envisions the program expanding to more local elementary schools near West Ranch. Having already spoken to the Stevenson Ranch Elementary principal, Mr. Livermont will then work on establishing the program at Pico Canyon Elementary School as well.
With the success of this first event, the high school athletes look forward to the continuation of the program. “Being able to connect with the kids at these local elementary schools allows us to create such a close relationship with them [that makes] it like a family,” Matera concluded. “Overall it just allows for a community to be built that we may have not had before.”
