Phoenix Phanatics for Kids

Practice (Tuesday, February 24):

• After arriving to the Elon Oaks parking lot at 5:15 pm, a group of 15 elementary and middle school children from The Boys and Girls Club of Burlington were welcomed and given a tour of Campus Recreation's facilities.
• From there, the group headed over to the Alumni Gym in Koury to catch the last half hour of the Elon Men's basketball practice.
• The kids were given programs with information about the players and coaches which they followed along with throughout the practice.
• At the conclusion of practice, all of the players came over to introduce themselves to the kids and say a little bit about their major, hometown, position, and fun facts.
• After the talk, the kids had an opportunity to have their programs signed by the players and coaches.
• Once the signing session concluded, a few of the basketball players stayed in the gym to shoot around and talk with the kids before departing Elon and heading home for the evening.

Game Day (Thursday, February 26):

• After arriving in the Church parking lot at 5:30 pm, the same group of 15 kids from Tuesday, plus an additional 15 from The Boys and Girls Club were greeted and taken to Varsity dining facility for a buffet meal before the game.
• At around 6:30, the group was lead to Koury to get seats for the game and start cheering on the players before they took on Georgia Southern!
• During the game, the kids eagerly watched their favorite players which they met at practice earlier in the week and even caught some stylish leadership t-shirts thrown into the crowd by co-ed cheerleading.
• At half time, during the honors athlete recognition, a group of children were taken down to the main floor to give high-fives to all the hard working student athletes.
• During the media time out in the second half, 3 volunteers from The Boys and Girls Club participated in the dot race on the main court.
• At 9:00 pm, the game concluded and the group headed back to the bus after another eventful evening!
• A special thanks to Coach Nestor and the men's basketball team for taking time out of their busy schedule to talk to the kids and show them the importance of education, hard work and being a part of a team!
• Another special thanks to Trip Durham, Gray Hunter, Pete Tulchinsky, Matt Eviston, and the staff at Varsity for making the event possible and being such a memorable experience for the kids!