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YSU women’s basketball players visit Watson
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .YSU athlete Athlete Heidi Schlegel (back left) and coach Amy Dolsak (back right) shared a smile with the students of Christine Palmer's second-grade classroom on Dec. 16.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .A group of students from Dana Elias' third-grade classroom smiled along with YSU women's basketball player Macey Nortey (back) on Dec. 16. The students are, from left, Carissa Slater (front), Cate Maguire, Alyssa Ferguson, Cally Brown (middle), MacKenzie Avery, Mia Odom, Nortey (back), Ryan Gordon, and Jacob Lawrence.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Second-grader Kayla Schubert (center) told YSU athlete Liz Hornberger about some of her favorite things to do in the winter after Hornberger offered the question to Schubert and her classmates.
By SARAH FOOR
When members of the YSU women’s basketball team visited Watson Elementary on Dec. 16, they left their basketballs behind. Instead of teaching court skills, the athletes shared their love of reading with students.
Players Macey Nortey, Brandi Brown, Heidi Schlegel, Liz Hornberger, Kelsea Fickiesen, and coaches Amy Dolsak and John Cullen visited Watson as one of the many community service projects the team completes throughout the year. Each year, the athletes volunteer their time at YSU, at local health walks and basketball clinics, as well as visiting local schools to read to and inspire growing athletes in the communities around Youngstown.
Every player hit it off with the students differently, but they all had a chance to read a story and then chat about some of the things the students cared about.
Schlegel read the tale of Clifford The Big Red Dog and talked with the students about the animals they have at home. After reading her story, Hornberger asked a group of second-grade students about their favorite things to do in the wintertime.
Each athlete gave a student a YSU women’s basketball cup.
Cullen said the team truly loves its trips to local schools.
“It’s as much fun for us as it is for the kids we talk to. They always make us feel great about the work we do and they’re always so thankful we took time to visit,” Cullen said.
Nortey said she appreciates the perspective that events like the visit to Watson give her.
“It’s great to go back and think about where we were at their age and how we arrived here. Plus, they’re really a lot of fun and they appreciate us like no one else,” Nortey shared.