Football season might be over, but senior Siloam Springs football players are still using their practice time to make a difference for younger students.
From the last game until the end of the fall semester senior players spend the time designated for football practice mentoring younger students, according to assistant coach Jonathan Johnson. Once the fall semester is over, seniors work with their teachers to continue scheduling time for mentoring once or twice a week until the end of the school year, he said.
Spending time with the football players is the highlight of the elementary students' week, according to Pasha Pippin, a counselor at Southside Elementary School.
"They literally count the days until they are here again," she said.
The players spend time helping in the classroom, reading to students, doing activities teachers have planned, playing games or just visiting with students, Johnson said. They typically work with the same classroom or small group of students throughout the year. Sometimes they return to their own former classrooms, so that they can build relationships.
The mentoring program is now in its third year, Johnson said. It began at Northside Elementary School and spread to Allen Elementary School and Southside Elementary School last year. This year the program was expanded to include the Intermediate School, he said.
A total of 23 seniors, including 21 football players and two female football managers, are participating this year, Johnson said. The program takes a lot of cooperation between the campuses, as well as support from the high school administration and more than 30 teachers who work with the seniors to make the scheduling possible, he said.
Fifth-grade teacher Toni Reno said her students thoroughly enjoy spending time with football player Chase Womack, especially some of the boys who need a good role model.
"Oh, they miss him when he's gone," she said.
"They very much admire the football players and managers who spend time with them each week," said Pippin. "It gives them a positive teenage role model, someone who devotes time to them specifically."
She described the mentoring program as a great opportunity for elementary school students to see that teenagers can be great role models, fun and honestly care about younger kids.
Both Johnson and Pippin said the feelings are mutual for the seniors. Johnson said his favorite part of the mentoring program is how excited the seniors are when they come back from mentoring and talk about their experiences. Pippin said she believes the football players and managers enjoy the mentoring program as much as the students they mentor.
They both reported that seniors often request to spend more time mentoring the younger students.
The program is also beneficial for the seniors because they realize what an influence they have on the younger students, Pippin said.
"They realize that they get the opportunity to spend some time with an elementary student and the chance to make a difference," she said.
Johnson said he hopes the program helps his football players realize they are having a lot of little eyes and minds looking up to them and that the responsibility of being a role model will help them make good decisions down the road. Seniors can also count the volunteer hours on college applications, he said.
Senior Rafael Martinez said he wasn't too sure about working with younger students when he started the mentoring program. Now he said he is "happy and thankful" that he gets to be involved.
He started to like the mentoring program more and more as he got to know the student he was assigned to work with, he said. The fifth grader reminds Martinez of himself at that age -- a bit of a troublemaker -- and has come to see him as a younger brother. Martinez said that nobody was there to give him advice on good behavior, but now he has the chance to encourage the student he is mentoring to make good choices.
Womack, who works with a group of students, said the mentoring program has been very rewarding.
He said he enjoys giving students a male figure to look up to. The mentoring program has also made him realize how privileged his life is, he said.
"One or two opened up to me and it was a reality check of how blessed my life is," he said.
Senior Matt Downing said he would have loved to have senior football players come into his classroom when he was in fifth grade.
"It's awesome to come in the classroom and have four or five kids yell hello," said Chris Boyster. "It's great to walk in and be welcomed and have students excited to see you."
Boyster works in a math class and said he spends most of his time helping tutor, answering questions and encouraging students to pay attention and stay on task. He loves math and physics so helping out in the class is a perfect fit for him, he said.
Downing enjoys reading and said helping out in the language arts class is also a great fit for him. He especially likes some of the stories he reads to students.
Boyster said the program is giving him lots of extra experience with kids and teaching him patience, skills that will help him when he eventually becomes a father. Downing echoed his answer, adding that he definitely feels the pressure of leading by example.
"It's rewarding," Boyster said. "I heard about it from the seniors last year and they enjoyed it. I would say (to next year's seniors) trust it and let it happen."
General News on 02/07/2016