Mentors in Athletic Shoes
UC basketball players take time with Horace Mann girls
March 2, 2005

By Chandra Broadwater
Staff writer, The Charleston Gazette

For Claire Stalnaker, it’s like having older sisters.

Someone to talk to, learn from, ask questions and — most importantly — play some basketball with.

Meg Scureman and Kayela Tidrick, basketball players at the University of Charleston, have been coming to Horace Mann Middle School once a week to hang out with Stalnaker and the other 21 members of the school’s girls basketball team.

As part of community outreach efforts, UC’s freshman players usually take a half-hour every other week to talk to the Horace Mann students about school, sports, friends and the delicate balance to maintain them all. UC coach Sherry Winn started the mentoring program this year at five area schools.

On Tuesday afternoon, Scureman and Tidrick shot some hoops with the Horace Mann girls.

"I think it’s a good opportunity for us to learn more about how it is when we get older," said Stalnaker, a seventh-grader. "They talk to us about our grades and basketball and give us more self-confidence."

Not everyone on the team has the luxury of having an older sister, she said.

"They’re role models, and it’s someone to talk to that’s a girl," said eighth-grader Shannon Hooper. "It’s easy to talk to someone that’s older like them. They have answers for us because they’ve been through it already."

The younger players agree that the UC players have made them a better team.

Before, conflicts and attitudes got in the way, they say. This year, the team won the county tournament.

Horace Mann Principal Mickey Blackwell said that for some students, good role models, let alone ones that go to college, are hard to come by.

"It’s a preview of what their future can be," he said.

Though he tries his best, Horace Mann Coach and Athletics Director Allen Annie said sometimes it’s difficult relating to the girls. It’s important for them to have strong, positive females in their lives, especially at their ages, he said.

"We have a real diverse population of students here," Annie said. "Some of them come from homes with moms and dads, and some have no parents at all. [Meg and Kayela] do a good job of talking about what mountains they’ve had to climb."

When the mentoring first started, some of the students asked Meg if she wanted to play in the Women’s National Basketball Association.

"She said she just hoped to get a job after college," Annie said. "That really hit home. They’d never thought about that before."

Winn said the program helps give confidence to her players while providing an uplifting experience for the youngsters.

"Whatever our players do, we want them to give their best effort, whether it’s in athletics, community service or academics," she said. "That gives you a feeling of inner satisfaction and allows you to feel good about yourself. And when you do that, success comes in many forms."

Also roommates, Scureman and Tidrick said that working with the Horace Mann team has just been fun. Neither of them had opportunities like this as younger players.

"It’s been great getting to know all these girls," Scureman said. "They’re so much fun to be around."