Blending academics and athletics

All-in-One-Athletics program keeps kids learning and playing

Posted

Every Thursday through the school year from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., children from the Lawrence school community who share an interest in basketball, dancing and learning can join the All-in-One-Athletics program offered out of the Life Club on Mill Road in Lawrence.
Combining athletics with academics, it was created under a different name, Academics Through Athletics Club, through the Lawrence School District two years ago. When funding for that program ran out, the club’s co-presidents, Cleveland Woods and Dov Frier, both Lawrence teachers and former basketball coaches for the district, still sought to run a similar program. They invested their own money to start anew. Scholarships are available for children, but they are limited in number. Basketball is $60 per session or $200 for one month. Dance is $30 per session and $100 for one month.
The goal of All-in-One-Athletics is to give the children an opportunity to practice their skills on the court as well as maintain good grades in the classroom, according to Frier. “With athletics and grades, we merged together,” he said. “We paired up the intellectually gifted with the athletically gifted, and together, they have improved upon both abilities.”
Woods said he thinks the program is an asset to the community because it teaches children that in order to achieve success there has to be a combination of self-determination and critical thinking skills. “The village mentality is missing,” he said. “We needed something like this to bring people together. We check up on these kids in school. We instill in them that to participate they need to be doing well on and off the court. These kids know that we care about them. I’ve seen kids come and go from the community. It’s great that I get to see their growth.”

Page 1 / 2