Starting in mid-October and running until the beginning of November, the BIG Play program allowed four children with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Plains (BBBS), to play floor hockey with five Portage Terriers players every week.
Mentoring Coordinator with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Plains Laura Spellicy explains how much this opportunity means to the kids.
“It really drew a lot of them out of their shells. We had a few shy boys in the program, and just that time where there was no specific pressure on them, but they did get that individual attention. It just allowed them to come out of their shell a little bit and start talking to everybody and get involved in the game going on around them.”
The Terrier players who participated were: #14 Aiden Sotas, #19 Logan Calder, #10 Dylan Winsor, #28 Ashton Fishley and #4 Brady Grasdal.
Spellicy details what it meant for her to see these kids get a chance to play with some of the Terriers players they look up to.
“The kids in our program are just super important to me. I think every kid needs mentoring and benefits from that positive time spent with them.” She continues, “Anytime I get the opportunity to see the kids thriving under that attention is fantastic. I also love to see how the mentors grow and the benefits that they get from that time, too; just seeing the effect that they can have on those kids is such a positive one for them as well, and so I love both sides of it, It’s fantastic.”
Spellicy notes that oftentimes when she would announce it was time to go home, groans could be heard from not only the kids but Terrier players as well.
She adds that this partnership would be something that BBBS would love to continue in the future, although no plans have been made at this time.
The program began on October 18, and it finished up on November 8.