Kansas State Athletics hosted a pregame clinic from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday in the Ice Basketball Training Facility to honor National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The event was open to girls first through eighth grade, and K-State athletes were to help them gain sports experience and have fun.
K-State guard Mikayla Parks said the girls got to play different games to improve their basketball skills.
“Every year we host a clinic for kids,” Parks said. “I think this year we have 300 kids, so we have a really good turnout. Today we just put them through some of their favorite things to do like knockout, basketball and then just other stuff around the football field. They come out and we hang out with them and enjoy time. It’s a good thing for women’s sports … and then they get to join us later at our game.”
K-State alumna Emily Wilson said this is the third year her two daughters attended the clinic.
“They really enjoy it, so we love coming back for it every year,” Wilson said. “… I think that they just love coming to K-State and getting to work with the coaches and see the players, of course see Willie.”
Wilson said the clinic teaches her daughters valuable skills they apply to several areas of life.
“They can learn those basic skills that will help them not only if they go on to play at a competitive level, but just as they’re experiencing different sports, playing with their friends and later on with their families,” Wilson said. “It’s good exposure to learning the basics and trying out different sports that they might like to pursue.”
Parks said she got her start in basketball because she had people there to show her the ropes.
“I got started off in basketball by my parents,” Parks said. “My dad played and my stepmom played, and my mom’s just kind of there, but she loved the game of basketball … My parents would sit me down as they played pickup basketball at the YMCA and I fell in love with the game then.”
Jennifer Billings, a parent of one attendee, said K-State athletes can be a driving force for young girls interested in sports.
“It’s important for the athletes to know that they are role models,” Billings said. “We’ve run into a couple volleyball players in the parking lot at football games and they’ve always stopped and taken time to autograph things, and say ‘Hi’ and take pictures. I think sometimes, maybe they don’t understand how valuable they are to the youth and how amazing it is for the girls to see that there is options and opportunities for them after high school.”
