Lakeland College has seen increased participation from kids in multiple programs

Another summer has gone, with Rustlers athletes helping make an impact in the lives of hundreds of kids.

Lakeland College saw several hundred children participate in sports camps over the past two months, along with hundreds more in additional sports related camps and programs involving Rustler student-athletes in a coaching role. This included basketball, soccer and volleyball and hockey programming.

Manager of Athletics Kevin Wagner said this is a critical piece of every off-season.

"As one of our athletic program's values is community engagement, having our SA's and coaches involved with our local youth and  community summer camps  has been a pivotal  component in establishing leadership within our programs short and long term goals and success' over the past decade," he said

There were multiple coed camps for youth volleyball, a developmental league and summer camp for basketball and summer and conditioning camps for women's hockey. Several Rustler soccer players, through Meridian Soccer, were directly involved in summer programming for kids ranging from two years old to 15.

Wagner said having the student-athletes give back is an important growth opportunity for kids, many of whom look up to Rustler players as role models.

"It's a great opportunity for our student athletes to be able to pass on some great sporting  information to aspiring kids in our community," he said.

Additionally, this practice has provided great benefit to the student-athletes themselves. Women's volleyball coach Austin Dyer said the work his players do with coaching kids not only benefits the sporting community they operate in, but develops critical skills in becoming an adult.

"We do everything we can to help our athletes develop as coaches and work with kids," Dyer said. "Creating opportunities for our athletes to work with kids and give back to the sport of volleyball is very important for the future of volleyball in our community and area."

"It is great to watch our athletes develop as young adults and coaches and we hope that they will continue to give back to the sport for years to come after they are done being student-athletes."

That fostering of a positive relationship has also helped improve the atmosphere at games. Average attendance at soccer, basketball and volleyball has doubled since the 2010's. Wagner noted that these interactions give players the much needed reciprocal experiences people look for.

"Everyone can have an enjoyable experience, learn from each other. Summer camps within our community are a win-win scenario," Wagner said.

Information on summer, fall, winter and spring programming is available at GoRustlers