Stand Strong; As important as ground balls and fly balls for the Athenas

Whether at an office or an elementary school, Mondays are often the worst attended day of the week. So when Mondays all of a sudden became the best-attended day of the week for girls between third and sixth grades in a mentoring program at Mountain View Elementary School in Claremont, something extraordinary was happening.

The jump in attendance and dip in the "case of the Mondays" for this group of students is in part a result of Stand Strong, a partnership between the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team and Mountain View Elementary that began in January and ended (for this school year) on April 25.

"Our attendance for those that are enrolled in Stand Strong has been outstanding," Beth Coronado, a fourth grade teacher at Mountain View said. "This is a day that most students do not want to miss."

Stand Strong takes place twice per month in season for the Athenas. The Athenas hop in vans and head over to Mountain View in their practice uniforms and when the Athenas arrive, they receive quite the welcome.

"The best, and most rewarding, feedback we have received is the cheering and excitement from the girls when we arrive," Athena senior infielder Katie Savard (CMC) said. "They [the students] rush up from their tables, hug us and pull us towards the playing field. The program has been a great success so far and it will be even more impactful over the years as deeper relationships are formed between us and the young students."

Coronado added, "It is so fun to see how excited our students are when the college students arrive on our campus. They [the Mountain View students] instantly fell in love and have developed some incredibly strong bonds with these girls [the Athenas]."

Once on site, the Athenas and the Mountain View students break up into smaller groups. The college freshmen go with the third graders, sophomores with the fourth graders, juniors with the fifth graders and seniors with the sixth graders. The Athenas engage the girls in conversations about peer pressure, social media, cheating in school, self-esteem and other hot topics.

After having short discussions on a variety of topics, several games and physical activities ensue. The activities have included Duck Duck Goose, elbow tag or two of the favorites: dance offs and the game Dead Bug. The latter is a game where everyone runs around and when the person who is "It" yells "dead bug," everyone drops on to their back as fast as possible and puts their arms and their legs straight up in the air like a dead bug.

"All they [the Mountain View students] connect to is 'you girls seem to like us, you care about us, you keep showing up, you play silly games with us, you dance goofy dance-offs with us.' So it's very much big sister, little sister," Athena head coach Betsy Hipple said.

The goal for Stand Strong is for a partnership that lasts many years, not just one season. Coach Hipple believes a long-lasting partnership is the best way for the program to leave a lasting mark on students in the program and the Athenas, beyond this year.

"My vision is that if you are a freshman in the program, you are working with the same client group for four years and a relationship develops," Hipple said.

A huge believer in service from her time in the Peace Corps, Coach Hipple has been in search of a way to "grow heart, passion and a beautiful soul" in the team. After having discussions with Coronado, and Amy Bibbens, the Director of the Center for Civic Engagement at CMC on putting together a program, Stand Strong is the result.

The Athenas give up two practice days per month to participate in Stand Strong which is unusual for a team to do in season, but for Coach Hipple, the value for the students and the Athenas is worth it.

"It's [committing to Stand Strong] saying, our kids staying grounded and human and humane is as important as ground balls and fly balls," Hipple said. "It's contributing to our success even though we won't swing a bat or take a ground ball. There's a heart piece and there's a humanity piece that I think contributes to the soul of the team and that puts up runs."

By Chris Watts
Director of Athletics Communication
Claremont McKenna College

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