Feb. 14, 2008

by Jeff Smith
Contributor, BigTen.org

This season the Big Ten Conference and the Indiana Sports Corporation is giving nearly 4,000 middle school students from the Indianapolis area a chance to break away from their normal curriculum and exercise both their minds and bodies in the spirit of basketball.

Since the inception of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament in 1995, the conference office, ISC and Indianapolis Public Schools have partnered together for the conference's Middle School Curriculum Program. Over 30 area schools have been given an opportunity annually to partner with conference institutions throughout the season to promote academic excellence and healthy living, while following and cheering on some of the best college basketball teams in the nation.

In addition to incorporating basketball into their curriculum, the participating schools are also provided a chance to attend a first or second round game at the women's tournament and cheer for the school that have been paired with throughout the season. In past years, the middle school program has enabled Big Ten student-athletes to become pen pals with the middle school students, while the youngsters in turn have provided welcome bags and good luck banners for the teams upon their arrival to Indianapolis.

With both the past success of the program and the fact that the Big Ten and the city of Indianapolis are now in the first season of a five-year agreement to host both the men's and women's tournament, the program is being expanded to include the conference's men's basketball teams.

Shortridge Middle School was selected as the pilot school for the men's program and coordinator Timothy Davis has already seen the impact it has had on his students.

"We have had a lot of good response and excitement from the kids," said Davis, who serves as the school's athletic director and computer lab specialist. "We have broken the Big Ten teams up and assigned one to each teacher here."

While having a Big Ten basketball player as a pen pal is certainly a cool thing for the kids, Davis points out the rewards have been far greater in the classroom from the teachers modifying their curriculum.

"Each classroom is doing something based on what subject they are teaching," he said. "In math, they are breaking down team stats. In science, they are breaking down what kind of chemicals go through the body when you are exerting yourself. In band, they are all learning the school songs. Our art teacher is also helping each of the other teachers with the banners for each team, so they can take them to the hotels or into the locker rooms."

And with an accomplished telecommunications class at the school, some students are breaking down highlight reels of individual players, while others serve as sports announcers over old game tapes.

The response to the program is something that has excited both the Big Ten and the ISC.

"These kids are the next generation of Big Ten fans," said ISC event operations manager Andretta Erickson. "How great is it to get them excited and cheer for the different schools at such a young age? Some of these kids have never been to Conseco Fieldhouse before and may not have a chance again, so they're just as excited as the diehard Ohio State fan to be there cheering and experiencing the Big Ten celebration. This is also their first look at college for a lot of these students. Some of the students have never thought of college as an option before and this is a great way to get them thinking about it."

But it's not just the thinking that concerns the Big Ten and ISC. It's the doing.

In the past few years, researchers at the University of Minnesota have published studies that in addition to unhealthy eating practices, a lack of physical activity has led to childhood obesity. In the United States, 15 percent of children are labeled overweight and another 15 percent are at risk of becoming obese. Overall, nearly nine million children are considered overweight.

"Our attention these days is being drawn to the fact that so many children are obese and not getting enough exercise," Erickson said. "This program is so great because it emphasizes both the academics and the athletics. This is a way to get kids involved with athletics where they aren't just watching it on TV or playing a role in a video game."

While several "core subject" teachers are busy keeping their kids' minds active in the classroom, the middle school program also provides the kids an outlet to be active on the court. A free-throw competition will be held at Shortridge with the winners advancing to a final round shootout at Conseco Fieldhouse during the morning of Saturday, March 16. Each student that participates will have 100 attempts from the line and the top 10 seventh graders and 10 best eighth graders will earn a trip to the site of the conference tournaments.

Not only has the competition sparked the interest of the students at Shortridge, but Davis says the teachers are becoming active as well. In past years he says teachers would not offer to give up their prep period to help the gym teacher out for an activity like this, but now everyone realizes how important it is to be both mentally and physically active at school.

"We are realizing different things motivate different kids, whether it be the arts, science, or sports," Davis said. "We know we need to focus on their health and we are getting a lot more staff becoming okay with kids exerting physical activity. The teachers are excited about the free-throw competition."

Davis also points out that Shortridge has a history of producing athletes and a free-throw competition like this, along with the contact the students have been having with Big Ten basketball players, might spark a fire inside a boy or a girl that has never given thought to becoming active in sports.

"Not only is this another way to keep their bodies active, but this is a chance where some could be very good at shooting free throws and they would have never known it."

Erickson and the ISC hope the success Shortridge has already endured will allow the men's program to expand in the coming years to include all the IPS middle schools. Tight budgets throughout the country have also made field trips tougher to schedule, which is another reason why the middle school program is so special to the area kids.

"For some, it's their only field trip," Erickson said. "Our program allows them to have basketball brought to their classroom curriculum and we bring them to Big Ten basketball at Conseco Fieldhouse."

While the decorative goodie bags filled with good luck wishes, candy, and memorabilia from the kids' schools will undoubtedly leave a mark on the basketball players participating in the tournament, it is the hope of the Big Ten, ISC and IPS that the middle school program leaves a lasting impression on another group of students.

The next generation of Big Ten fans.