North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Reynolds Hosts Education Day
11/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2010
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BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. – School was in session at Reynolds Coliseum Friday morning.
Nearly 1,000 fourth- and fifth-graders from Johnston County schools spent the day in the grand old arena learning about math, nutrition and geography, using the real-world examples from NC State women’s basketball.
The inaugural Education Day program was organized by NC State director of women’s basketball operations L’Tona Lamonte, a former high school basketball coach and health and physical education teacher.
Lamonte organized a similar program during the five years she was an assistant for NC State head coach Kellie Harper at Western Carolina, and was anxious to get a program going here in Raleigh. She skipped it last season, as Harper and her staff acclimated to their new jobs.
“But it’s something that’s really important to us and the program,” Lamonte said. “We hope it continues to grow from here.”
For Harper, the two-hour program, just before the Wolfpack’s season-opener against College of Charleston, was an excellent outreach opportunity that not only taught a few school lessons, but also might have created a few more young fans for her program.
“It’s a nice outreach for our program into the community, a link between academics and athletics,” Harper said. “It also gives the kids a taste of NC State.”
Not to mention a few slices cheese and pepperoni from Marco’s Pizza on Hillsborough Street.
The kids, excited about free pizza for lunch and the chance to see a women’s basketball game in the afternoon, remained attentive and enthusiastic throughout the program, as Lamonte taught them how to determine scoring and rebounding averages and other basketball-related math questions, all based on the results from last year’s ACC Women’s Basketball Championship in Greensboro.
“Sometimes when you’re sitting in a classroom that you're in every day, and someone is trying to teach you something you might not like, you can’t fully understand a real-world application,” Harper said. “For these kids to relate it back to sports grabs their attention.”
One bright young student, wearing a red NC State T-shirt, was even helping her teacher, wearing a slightly out-of-place Carolina sweatshirt, work all the math problems.
For the nutrition discussion, NC State athletics dietician Michelle Rockwell talked to the students about how the things they choose to eat affect their health and athletic performance. She emphasized that there is no such thing as foods that are “bad for you.”
She just wanted them to think about, even at their young ages, that there is a time and place junk food like Cheetos and Halloween candy in moderation, while mixing in a balance from the food guide pyramid to include carbs, vegetables, fruits, dairy and protein.
Lamonte used the current Wolfpack roster and a map of the United States to teach the kids about geography. Her questions were about the home states of every member of the Wolfpack squad.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@mindspring.com.
