June 27, 2007

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Throughout the spring quarter at Northwestern two members of the 2006 men's soccer team, Justin Pines and Drew Pavlovich, visited local Oakton Elementary School to teach a group of third grade students important soccer and life skills.

In addition to teaching and practicing soccer, the goals of the third grade Sports Club were to teach social skills through extracurricular activities as well as foster a sense of social commitment and teach team building techniques. Each week's session began with team building exercises followed by team sport skills and then a fun scrimmage.

Lisa Burkhart, a parent of Oakton students, reached out to the Northwestern athletic community early in 2007 to inquire about the Wildcats' ability to participate in this project.

"Third grade is a time of rapid social development. The purpose of this program was to provide role models and a safe environment to practice healthy social skills. For many children, sports can provide the forum to learn these skills. We were very lucky that the Oakton Leadership -- including Mr. Carter, principal; Mr. C. Daniels, assistant principal; and Mr. Moore, clinical social worker--supported this program. We also were very lucky that Northwestern had a community service program within the athletic department and supported the program with highly talented, socially minded members of the Northwestern soccer team.

"Both Justin Pines and Drew Pavlovich embodied the ideals of how athletics can assist in social development. Pairing Oakton faculty and members of the Northwestern soccer team was a great experience. The Oakton faculty created a structured, safe environment to practice these skills, while Justin and Drew commanded respect and taught the kids how to play soccer."

For Drew Pavlovich "working with the kids at Oakton was a tremendously rewarding experience. Going into a situation where the kids had little knowledge of soccer or the team concept but then seeing them practice sportsmanship and all the other values associated with team athletics by the end left us with a great sense of accomplishment."

The quarter wrapped up with an Oakton Sport Club picnic, scrimmage and campfire with Pines, Pavlovich, Dave Roth, Carl Pett and Kevin Valenta. As Ms. Burkhart recounts, "What a joy to see kids high-fiving each other and helping one other when they fell, rather than laughing or yelling at other players in the heat of the game. They learned to support each other. The children learned that the only way to `win the game' was to help each other to be part of the team."