The Frenship Tiger Boys Basketball Team desires to do more than just excel on the basketball court; they work to excel through volunteerism and community service.
“Community outreach is one of our athletic program’s initiatives in which each sport is challenged with finding a significant way to give back to the community in some fashion, as well as one of my personal goals for our basketball program each year,” said Paul Page, Head Boys Basketball Coach. “Over the years, we’ve had the opportunity to help at Lubbock Impact several times, assist with Special Olympics basketball that we typically host at the Tiger Pit, and the last several years we’ve been able to bless the kids at Talkington.”
At the Boys and Girls Club, the team had the opportunity to pour into the kids by moving and playing with them throughout the day. They help facilitate activities including basketball, video games, arts and crafts, board games, and outdoor games.
“We really like going to Talkington because the kids that attend the after-school program that we help with are all Frenship ISD children. We often meet younger siblings of peers that our guys attend high school with which is neat,” said Coach Page.
The team’s outreach demonstrates the culture of being a Frenship Tiger, which is to always go the extra mile and serve the community at every opportunity. This is what makes up the Frenship Way.
The Frenship Way is rooted in servant leadership, community service, and instilling positive behaviors in students and staff. The Frenship Way SERVE Model stands for: Smile, Engage, Respect, Volunteer, and Encourage.
“We try to emphasize to our players to just “Be Right” in their actions and reactions, and in this instance that means putting others first,” said Coach Page. “We feel like this is a huge life lesson takeaway from being a part of high school athletics and having the opportunity to give of yourself on a daily basis.”
In addition to visiting the Talkington Boys and Girls Club, the team also attended Middle School Hoops Night.
“It was fun to be able to attend a few of our middle school 8th grade games on the same day as we visited Talkington. It was great that a few of our players had younger siblings playing in those games so we got to support them along with all their teammates,” said Coach Page.
Coach Page believes that it is important for middle school students to see the Varsity team supporting them.
“I think it was fun for those middle school players to see some of the guys that they have heard about and look up to. We had fun cheering them on when they made really good plays and that’s awesome for those middle school kids to hear that from the varsity guys,” said Coach Page.