Field trip with the Griffs puts a whole new meaning to home court advantage
By Kyle Schmidt
Students got a break from school Wednesday as a reward for showing up to class all semester.
Kids from 17 local elementary schools were invited to Missouri Western State University to watch the Griffons men take on Kansas Christian in a basketball matchup. Mike Buckler with the St. Joseph School District said the senior associate athletic director at Missouri Western, Ryan Menley, had the idea to bring kids to a basketball game.
“We wanted to get our kids involved to come out to a basketball game,” Buckler said. “I talked with Dr. Edgar and he said, ‘Let’s use it because attendance is our big goal. Let’s use that as an incentive.’”
The classes with the best attendance in their building were able to watch the game. Buckler said about 2,200 kids were in attendance.
The first ever Education Day Game put a whole new meaning to home court advantage and was an early Christmas gift for the local students.
“They didn’t even find out they were coming until after the Thanksgiving break,” Buckler said. “They are just excited as can be.”
It was an opportunity to get out of the classroom but also an eye-opening experience for the young students.
“This is the first time a lot of them have ever been on the campus of Missouri Western so they get a chance to see a college basketball game in their hometown,” Buckler said. “And a hometown player in Ethan Kilgore from around here.”
The Griffons basketball team showed up and put on a show for all the students to enjoy. They have also shown up to Hyde elementary over the past three years. A partnership with the school allows for monthly activities involving the students and players.
Third-grade teacher Brittany Sisk said the partnership has been great for her students.
“Each month we do a planned activity to promote kids coming to school,” Sisk said. “We invite the men’s basketball players and we try to have them connect with each other and talk to each other and really the men’s basketball team acts as mentors to them.”
She said since students started meeting with the basketball players, there has been an improvement in attendance, including this year when they had the highest rate for Hyde.
“They came in and surprised us with the shirts to get us in an extra game for having the highest attendance,” Sisk said. “The kids asked great questions and they got to know all of the players names and they’re like best friends now.”
The home court advantage showed on the scoreboard: Missouri Western would defeat Kansas Christian 114 to 60.
