Visiting Kent City elementary schools

Representing their hometown on the playground

Members of the Kent State volleyball visited an elementary school in Kent for the second time this fall on Friday. The visits are part of the volleyball program’s community outreach initiative to give back and get out in our local community.

The first visit was to Franklin Elementary on Friday, Sept. 20, as members of the team spent time playing volleyball and kickball with students during recess.

Sophomore Alexis Rains was among the Golden Flashes who visited both schools.

“I really enjoyed getting to play with them,” she said. “The kids were so competitive and were playfully taunting each other. It was hilarious.”

Friday afternoon, the team went to Walls Elementary and talked to a group of students in grades 3-5 about life as a collegiate student-athlete. Members of the team told the students about when they began playing volleyball and stressed the role of academics in being in successful as an athlete.

“They were pretty excited to have us there,” said Rains. “They were so eager to tell us about all of the sports they play. We told them about volleyball and the Little Bumpers camps that we run every Sunday. Their hands shot up when we asked if they wanted us to teach them how to play.

Junior Jenny Buczek also visited Walls Elementary on Friday.

“A lot of them were really rowdy and sassy,” she said. “My favorite part was when one of the kids called out Steve and was like ‘I’d like to see your coach do pushups.’ It was a really fun group of students to be around.”

One of the shortest players on the Kent State roster, Rains enjoyed being looked up to for a change.

“They told me that I was tall. I’ve never heard that, ever in my life.”