Courtesy of LehighSports.com
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men’s basketball team visited Northeast Middle School on Friday to kick off the NABC Stay in to Win Program. The Mountain Hawks were one of the first colleges in the country to step forward and embrace the program after its inception in 2012, and continue to make a difference in the lives of young students.
“I think an event such as the Stay in to Win program really benefits both sides of those who participate,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “Our players have the opportunity to present very valuable messaging to impressionable youth about importance of education, responsible decision making and action plans for success in life. Those messages are very well received.”
Al Foderaro, the program’s founder, was in attendance on Friday afternoon.
“Coach Reed didn’t just want to do one school. He started with one and wants to expand to all the middle schools in Bethlehem,” he said. “Brett takes this really seriously. He believes in not only contributing to the community, but also delivering this positive message.”
At the core of the Stay in to Win program is five keys to success:
- Stay in school and graduate
- Create a Success Team and Success Plan
- Learn and practice decision-making skills
- Improve academic performance
- Focus on personal development
During Friday’s school visit, a different Lehigh player presented each of the five keys and related the concepts back to experiences from their own lives.
“It’s always nice knowing as a player that we have a chance to impact those we talk to and might help influence them in the right direction,” said senior Corey Schaefer. “We also help them consider some of the decisions they’ll have to make at this point in their lives with staying in school, staying away from drugs and drinking, and trying to find a good group of friends. I think sharing personal experiences about how we made some of these decisions as kids and how we overcame some of our own struggles helps them as well.”
The program is successful due in large part to its setup. The players don’t just make an appearance, but they also leave a Stay in to Win workbook which reinforces the concepts covered.
“If the team was here and solely did an assembly, the kids in the audience would remember it for about two weeks then forget the message,” said Foderaro. “The unique part of this program is that we provide the school with workbooks that follow up the message, built on the five keys of student success. The real success of the program is how the schools reinforce and use these messages to help these kids over the course of the year. If the team comes back every year, they’ll keep talking to a new class of students and eventually, the whole school has a culture built around these keys.”
Stay in to Win benefits the Lehigh student-athletes just as much as the middle school students.
“Our players gain a perspective of their influence within our community and a sense of connection with those who surround our campus and athletic program, and really get a sense of context about their overall experience,” said Reed. “This aids in their development holistically as student-athletes.”
The Stay in to Win program was founded by Foderaro, who worked in higher education his whole life until returning in 2008.
“I was always concerned about at-risk kids and the number of kids that were dropping out in this country,” he said. “The rates were really staggering. My son was going to grad school at Duke at the time, so I went to see Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) and I asked him if he thought this would be something that the players and coaches would go into schools and do. He referred me to the National Association of Basketball Coaches.”
The program began in 2012 with 15 colleges, expanded to 30 programs last year and has reached 55 this year.
“We’re in 22 states, 55 colleges, 30 different conferences and we’ve talked to probably almost 100,000 children in the three years now and we’ve given out almost that many books,” said Foderaro.
Lehigh looks to continue expanding and hopes to finalize details to visit Bethlehem’s other middle schools: Nitschmann, Broughal and East Hills.
“It’s very important to be active in the community,” said Schaefer. “We know that many of these kids look up to us as students and athletes, so to be in their schools and talk to them allows us to have an impact on them. We also know that many of these students try to attend our games, so it’s a way to connect and thank them for their support.”
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