Beacon basketball clinic opens eyes and hearts

Submitted by Michael Fuller, Dean of Students, Northwest Christian College

As part of the Beacon’s commitment to the NAIA’s Champions of Character program, the Northwest Christian College (NCC) men’s and women’s basketball teams took time out this weekend to help kids in need, putting on a basketball clinic for elementary school students in neighboring Springfield, Ore.

Children at Brattain Elementary School, where 87% live below the poverty line, rarely get opportunities like this. As one of the lowest budgeted schools in its district, Brattain barely has enough resources for everyday supplies. They need groups like the NCC basketball teams to provide exciting events for their students.

So the NCC basketball teams, led by men’s head coach Dave Lipp, decided to put on a hoops clinic.

“One of the things that we try to teach our athletes is to use the gifts that God has given them,” said Lipp. “They all have the ability to play basketball and were able to use this gift in a unique and positive way.”

The children learned about passing, shooting, rebounding and dribbling. They also got to wear Beacon uniforms for photos with the players, got a snack and had a memorable day.

“We saw a lot of huge smiles on Saturday,” said Lipp. “The parents were very excited for their kids to have this opportunity. Most of these families wouldn’t normally be able to afford things such as basketball camps or clinics.”

The students, however, weren’t the only people to leave the building with huge smiles on their faces. The event took on a life of its own and everyone involved could sense that something special was happening.

“We came up from North Bend, because our grandson was so excited for this opportunity to hang out with and learn from the basketball players,” said Marty Newlander, the grandfather of Brattain student Quentin Shradel. “These kids are at such a vital age and to have role models like this, a group of college age kids with Christian values, has such a positive impact.”

Some of the Northwest Christian athletes were so moved by the experience, that they arranged with the school to start coming one day a week during lunch to work with the children more.

“The kids were so excited to see us, and that made us excited to be there. It felt really good just to be there and see the look in the kids eyes just by giving them some special attention,” said senior guard Carden Gambee. “This really wasn’t about basketball, but about caring.”

“We’ve heard about all of these kids going home and talking about how much the loved they clinic for days,” said sophomore guard Jacquie Lipp. “It’s amazing how just a few hours out of our lives were able to mean the world to the kids.”

Even the staff of Brattain were impressed with the way the day went. School Principal Jeff Butler said, “The level of integrity that the athletes had on display was a witness throughout the day.” Butler relayed the story of one NCC player who, when asked to sign an autograph on a students arm said, “well, it isn’t healthy to write on your body, but if you get some paper, I would be happy to sign for you!”. Butler commented, “Many athletes wouldn’t even consider that. It was refreshing to see someone taking an opportunity to be a role model and teach a young person something completely unrelated to the fundamentals of basketball.”

Perhaps the most important thing that the basketball teams were able to instill was a simple message of love. Newlander was blown away by what an inspiration it was to have the athletes come and just “love on the kids” in an unconditional way. His grandson Quentin couldn’t stop talking about the great day he had playing with the basketball players, telling him, “and they love God, too, Papa.”

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Northwest Christian College, which is in a probationary first year of membership in the NAIA, strives to make an impact and have a positive influence on the community off of the court. The Champions of Character initiative brings a new platform by which the Beacons can deliver a message to Eugene, Oregon and Lane County.

Champions of Character is a program of the NAIA designed to promote character development in youth and change the culture of sport. The NAIA developed the Champions of Character program in response to the growing problem of deteriorating standards of integrity in sports and society. At a time when all of sport has experienced increasingly abhorrent behavior by athletes, coaches, fans and parents, NAIA Champions of Character raises the standards for positive youth development in athletics and academics. Through the five core values of respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship, NAIA schools hope to show the world that there is so much more to athletics than what happens on the playing field.