High school athletes in Benzie County are taking a break from the court and impacting their youngest fans with a strong message.
Players from Benzie County High School read to students in kindergarten to fifth grade.
“Very fun to have them read to us," said Edgar Roman, a 5th grader at Platte River Elementary.
It was a fun day at Platte River Elementary School as high school athletes filled each classroom and read to them. But that wasn’t all they were there for…
“They explained how important it is to keep up your grades. If you don’t then that damages your grade very, very much,” said Roman.
The high schoolers wore their sports uniforms, read to the students and explained how important having good reading habits and getting good grades now, will set them up for success.
“They wanted to make sure that the little kids knew that to set their sights, set goals and being a good reader will help them achieve goals because if they want to do sports, any type of athletics or extracurricular, you gotta have a good grade point, you gotta keep your grades up,” said Kim O’Connor, a teacher at Platte River Elementary.
The school hopes the older students will be seen as role models and have a lasting impact on the younger students.
"Because I have went through the same thing as them, we didn’t have a huge, let’s say role models, to come down and talk to us. They’re the future of our society so we need them to be successful and its good for everyone to be successful,” said Caleb Walmsley, a sophomore at Benzie Central High School.
The school says they hope to continue doing things like this to keep students on their game.
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