The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- December 6, 1999

Endzone -- Dickinson hosts a little team that 'bubbles' with enthusiasm

BY KAY HAWES
STAFF WRITER

Members of the Dickinson College football team take being role models seriously.

Every year, they get a chance to meet with youngsters who literally get to walk in their shoes and try on their shoulder pads.

Before their annual fall preseason Red and White scrimmage, the team hosts the Boiling Springs Bubblers, a local midget football team, for a special practice session.

The Red Devils take the Bubblers through a slowed-down version of a Dickinson practice, complete with drills and stretching sessions. The youngsters are given the opportunity to actually work out alongside the team and see how a real college practice is run. They also get to ask questions, both of the coaches and of the players.

Dickinson coach Darwin Breaux isn't sure who gets more out of the experience, the little football players or the big ones.

"Our players really enjoy working with the kids," he said. "It gives them an opportunity to think about when they started playing and to give something back to the game."

At the end of the practice session -- which runs about an hour and a half -- the Bubblers spend some more quality time with team members, touring the locker and weight rooms, trying on equipment, talking and sharing Popsicles.

Many a player has had his position as a role model acted out right in front of his eyes as the little football players try on his shoulder pads and helmet, pretending to be him.

The players and coaches also talk about choices and the importance of making good decisions on and off the field.

"We talk about the importance of school, the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and even about friendship," Breaux said. "I tell the kids that, as head coach, I want to be surrounded by people I can count on. I think that's an important quality to have in your friends as well."

The coaches would like to expand the program, but they also know the value of individual attention.

"We usually have between 50 and 100 kids, which means each player can work with a small group, or even one-on-one," Breaux said. "That allows for a lot of personal attention and interaction between the players and the kids."

While it has been a great way to expose youngsters to positive role models, the program with the Bubblers was established primarily to spark an interest with young fans and foster a positive relationship between Dickinson student-athletes and the college's community of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Out of it has grown another program, called "Study Buddies." In the spring, a number of Red Devils football players volunteer as tutors for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students in the South Middleton school district.

Breaux said the schools are very receptive to the athletes, especially since it is difficult to find male volunteers.

"They give the kids special attention outside the classroom and the kids look up the them," he said. "I also feel it is helpful for the kids to see the players on the field in the fall and then see them in the classroom later on. Overall, both programs have been positive experiences for everyone involved."