High school students reach ‘superhero status’ coaching kids

When a group of 5th grade basketball players were missing a coach this winter season, Skyline High School student Gentry Swanson stepped up. 

The athlete said his happy memories of meeting role models when he was younger helped inspire him to take on the volunteer position.

“I really love sports and remember when I was that age how cool it was to be around older kids, especially older kids who were nice and had fun with me,” the Skyline High School student said. “It’s a way to be involved with sports but low pressure for me, it’s just fun.”

Swanson recruited friend and fellow athlete Andy Rico to help coach the young team through Twin Peaks Youth Sports.

“I decided to take the opportunity of becoming a coach because I think that I can use the skills I've learned over the years to help the kids become better,” Rico said. “I also want to help kids and inspire them while I have the chance to do so.”

The volunteerism didn’t end there — Skyline High School athletes Brody Wilt and Rah Carson then became coaches of a 5th and 6th grade flag football team for the NOCO league. 

The small group of Skyline student coaches are seen as “superheroes” by the elementary school students they teach, said Mackenzie Turrill, a parent and 3rd grade teacher in Thunder Valley K8.

“The players respond so differently to these high school role models,” Turrill explained. “The parents are so thankful for high quality kids giving time in their demanding schedules to serve as role models for their kids.”

The coaches even spent their own money on supplies to help the kids play sports, she said.

Fortunately, the coaches also seem to get a lot out of their volunteer work, Turrill explained.

“They are playing and being coached themselves in these sports, so can use their real time expertise in their coaching,” she said. “I also know from these high school boys’ parents that reconnecting with the sports they play through a younger kid’s eyes, in a low stakes way, have revived the love of the game. Also, the way they’ve risen to the challenge has called out some greatness and pride in them.”

The coaches, who are involved in Skyline High School’s Pathways in Technology Early College High School, or P-TECH, program, are known as leaders in their community, Turrill said.

“They have really invested their whole selves into these kids,” she said.