The Optimist
  • Home
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Staff Contacts
    • Jobs
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos
  • Features
  • Print Edition
    • The Pessimist
    • Special Projects
  • Police Log
  • Classifieds
You are here: Home / News / Soccer, baseball teams give back

Soccer, baseball teams give back

March 8, 2013 by Margo Herrera

The ACU soccer and baseball teams not only make a difference on the field, but also in the classrooms at Martinez and Taylor Elementary schools.

Both teams have taken time out of their busy schedules to expand the minds of young children by reading, teaching math, making patterns with shapes and being mentors.

The soccer team goes to Martinez Elementary every Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30 p.m. The women meet with Mrs. Allen’s first grade class each week.

Madison Brown, sophomore interior design major from Frisco and outside midfielder, said she enjoys mentoring the kids.

“The kids could theoretically read to themselves but it’s not hard for kids so young to get off task,” Brown said. “It’s easy to see that they enjoy it more when they are reading to us and vice versa.”

Brown said in order to move on to the second grade, the students must be able to read at a reading level of 18 or above. The students’ reading levels in this specific class are all over the board, some well beyond the requirements, others at lower levels.

She said each day Mrs. Allen tests students’ progress individually or works with them in small groups. Meanwhile, the other students are left to practice their reading, and that’s where the team comes in and helps out.

“The kids are so excited to see us as soon as we walk in. It’s a great feeling,” Sarah Schoch, sophomore nursing major from Amarillo and center midfielder, said. “We help them stumble through the words they don’t know when they read.”

“The kids automatically look up to you for different reasons and watch everything you do and say,” Taylor Brown, sophomore Ad/PR major from Southlake and outside midfielder, said. “You never really know when something so simple can have a huge impact.”

The baseball team goes to Taylor Elementary every Monday at 2 p.m.

“We meet in the cafeteria and work with four different kindergarten classes,” said Sean O’Donnell, sophomore business management major from Aledo and outfielder. “We help them with their math activities, specifically counting and simple addition, subtraction and patterns.”

O’Donnell said even though some of the kids have hard time paying attention and learning, the team members like being there as buddies and people the students can look up to.

While the kids receive a lot out of this experience, the team also gets something out of it as well, said Tyler Eager, sophomore business management major from Fort Worth and first basemen.

“It allows us to stay young and get our minds off baseball for awhile and just hang out with some kids who really look up to us,” Eager said. “They might not know it, but they’re impacting us just as much as we impact them.”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Baseball, Community Service, Soccer

Other News:

  • Provost adopts new policy for emeriti faculty

  • Demolition begins on Sherrod residential apartments

  • ACU Gives exceeds goal, raises over $919,000

About Margo Herrera

You are here: Home / News / Soccer, baseball teams give back

Other News:

  • Provost adopts new policy for emeriti faculty

  • Demolition begins on Sherrod residential apartments

  • ACU Gives exceeds goal, raises over $919,000

Follow us online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Optimist on Twitter

Retweet on Twitter The Optimist Retweeted
optimistsports Optimist Sports @optimistsports ·
26 Jun

The United Athletic Conference is officially taking the place of the Western Athletic Conference in the 2026-2027 athletic year. The UAC is a joint football effort between the WAC and the ASUN but will now extend to all sports. #acuoptimist #acuathletics #wac #uac

Reply on Twitter 1938240320854008109 Retweet on Twitter 1938240320854008109 2 Like on Twitter 1938240320854008109 7 Twitter 1938240320854008109
Retweet on Twitter The Optimist Retweeted
ashleyh1607 Ashley Henderson @ashleyh1607 ·
3 Jun

My second year at ACU was full of opportunities that grew me as an individual and a journalist.

In my first year as editor in chief of @acuoptimist, we published six print issues, filmed a 3-hour live election show, and revamped our newscast, all while producing news weekly.

Reply on Twitter 1929734328445178254 Retweet on Twitter 1929734328445178254 1 Like on Twitter 1929734328445178254 1 Twitter 1929734328445178254

Optimist on Facebook

The Optimist

1 years ago

The Optimist

Video

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

The Optimist

2 years ago

The Optimist
"Ending my college education early was always the plan for me, but the things that I have been able to see, experience and examine about ACU’s community were not. I have found immense growth in ACU over the past three and a half years, but ACU still has a long road to climb if it wants to keep catering to students as the world changes around them." To read more of this article visit acuoptimist.com or click the link in our bio. #acu #abilenechristianuniversity #privatechristianuniversity #collegestudentopinion #acuopinion ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Videos

Optimist Newscast Feb. 28, 2024

Our top stories today include a recap of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, the ... [Read More…]

  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 21, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 14, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Jan. 24, 2024

Latest Photos

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Policies
    • Advertising Policy
    • Letters to the Editor and Reader Comments
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Features
  • Advertise
    • Paid Advertisement
  • Police Log

© 2025 ACU Optimist · All Rights Reserved