The benefits of youth sports are clear – research from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition Science Board shows that participation in sports is correlated with positive impacts on mental and physical health, as well as educational and career success. But that’s no secret to any of the Monticello High School on the school’s newly-formed Student Athlete Advisory Committee, led by President Diya Patel and Vice President Tyrese Shaw.
The two students participated in the Student-Athlete Leadership Summitt at Mount Saint Mary College back in November. A collaborative venture by the Mid-Hudson School Study Council, Mount Saint Mary Athletics, and Section 9 athletics, the summit brought together student athlete leaders from throughout the region for a day of discussions and activities designed to encourage students to take an active role in promoting athletics. Inspired by their work at the summit, Patel and Shaw have spent the past four months organizing a “SAAC Day” at the Kenneth L. Rutherford Elementary School to instill a curiosity and excitement about sports in the district’s elementary students. After months of planning, the event took place at KLR during the week of March 3.
High school winter varsity athletes set up stations at the KLR gym where they demonstrated their sporting skills, and answered questions during each physical education period. The younger students spent the first part of their class rotating between the stations, which included alpine ski, Nordic ski, cheer, basketball and wrestling. Afterwards, they split into teams and participated in an indoor relay complete with medals and prizes for the winners.
“I had one student come up to me and ask ‘can I start track right now?’,” Patel said. “The relay especially got them excited because there were prizes and rewards at the end. They really enjoyed the whole experience.”
During any down time, the older students let loose with the younger ones – breaking into dance battles, performing popular TikTok dances and having impromptu group Q&A sessions.
“Going to high school or middle school can be a scary experience, but when they see the high schoolers coming down and inspiring them it can make really want to be like that when they’re in high school as well,” Shaw said. “A lot of kids get scared when they come into high school thinking they won’t be able to find a friend group or find their clique, but sports can really help a lot with that. because when you’re on a sports team you guys have the same interests, and you hang out in school and out of school, and build that chemistry so that you have a great team.”
With the SAAC Day being such a success, the committee is already hard at work planning a spring day where they’ll introduce students to fall sports.
“This was a completely student-led initiative,” said MCSD Athletic Director Ryan Jasper. “Every phone call to [KLR Principal] Ms. Serrano, every email, every conversation with KLR’s physical education teachers – it was all done by the students on the committee. They really stepped up to the plate to get the younger kids excited and enthusiastic about become future Panther athletes.
Watch an interview with Diya Patel and Tyrese Shaw in the March 10 episode of It’s Monday in Monticello: