CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — One high school basketball coach in Illinois is not only teaching his team hoops, but has aspirations for his players beyond the court in achieving Victory Over Violence by giving back to the community.
LeConte Nix coaches boys basketball at Champaign Central High School. He wants his players to be more than athletes, but develop skills off the court. Part of that includes giving back to those who are constantly helping others, like law enforcement officers, WCIA reported.
So Nix and his team are going to dinner with members of the Champaign Police Department, hoping to use it as a bridge event.
The coach said officers and his team are going to sit down and have some pizza. Nix desires to have his players learn what it takes to be a police officer and how much they do for the community. Some may want to be police officers later in life, other may not know how to interact with cops. So he hopes the discourse will prove beneficial.
“We want to try and build some relationships with our Champaign Police department and just talk,” Nix said. “Mostly show some appreciation on our part that they’re doing a bunch for us so we want to take care of them, just like they take care of us.”
The coach wants to give the police credit for their service to the community. He went on to say his players are excited to meet with members of the department.
The team was scheduled to go to Papa Dels with the officers last Thursday, WCIA reported Feb. 15. We trust it went well.
Breaking bread is not the only “field trip” Nix has experienced with his players. They have also done other community service acts, like reading to younger children.
