Yesterday morning, I received a call from Jason Archuleta who along with a coach from the High School are working with any of the Wichita County kids who will be in 7th through 12th grade this next year. They meet in the new weight lifting dome just to the north of the WCHS gym in the evening, Monday through Friday. Once there, they go through a program with weight lifting that is set up early on. Each student tells Jason or the coach what their reasons are for choosing to do weight lifting whether it be so that they will be better for sports next year, exercise, etc. At that point, the student is instructed on which machines to use, etc. The normal individual program lasts for 45 minutes.

After the student has completed his/her routine, they have the option to move to the gym and shoot baskets, play basketball, etc. Currently, the WCHS gym floor is being redone so the kids are being re-routed to the Wichita County Junior High Gym. Jason asked if Stan and I would be interested in chaparoning the kids there last night. We were only too willing to do our part.

This was our first time to experience the major changes that were done at the gym since authorities discovered that the roof that sheltered the gym was extremely faulty and in danger of falling in on anyone in the gym. At that point, school personnel determined that no other students would be allowed in the gym until the roof could be corrected.

The roof has now gone through the major repairs and the floor has been redone. I don't think that I have ever seen that floor looking so "perky". The shine is just beautiful! But before the wax was laid, a large medallion was placed on the floor. It looks soooo good! The home side of the bleachers now sports a nice score table that was previously practically invisible. It also has a large Indian head painted on it.

More importantly than the interior design of the gym was what happens on the glossy floor right now after the kids have completed their weight lifting system for the day. Last evening, approximately 15-20 kids showed up. For the first part of the evening they basically just did their own thing at one of the 6 available basketball goals. As the evening progressed, the kids formed two teams to play basketball with one another. These teams included kids from 7th through 12th grade in the 2010-2011 school year. One of the seniors there last night was Trae Bremer, Mindi Bremer's son. Anyone who lives in Leoti knows that Trae is an exceptional young man. I could go on and on about his amazing attributes. One of those things is the fact that he is a wonderful mentor to all kids in town. He is also an amazing basketball player. Last night, he showed the younger kids how to do this move and that move so that they will be better equipped for their own games. It was a real pleasure getting to sit on the sidelines and watch him interact with everyone. It was quite easy to see how much respect and admiration that each of these kids had for Trae! Today, less and less older kids seem to be making a positive difference for the younger kids. We're quite proud of Trae!!!

I asked Trae what his plans are for the future after high school. He told me that he is really interested in coaching and helping the kids from the sideline. Right now, he is anxious to see what college will offer him the "best deal". As we all know, college is anything but cheap.

Anyway, I am really happy that our school offers the weight lifting program and the option to play some basketball afterwards! It is far better than these kids getting into trouble or just sitting at home watching TV...

VLE-B