The Athletic Leadership Council at Henry Hudson Regional High School brought excitement, reading skills and a love of reading to second grade students at the Highlands and Atlantic Highlands Elementary schools recently, showing how high school scholar athletes can promote reading for others.
Led by coach Eric Pritchard, the Hudson Athletic Leadership Council is comprised of sophomore, junior and senior class students at Henry Hudson who were identified by their coaches as either leaders or captains of their athletic teams .
A leadership opportunity for the scholar athletes, the program serves as the voice of those students who are creating The Admiral Way, learning and spreading a statement of core values and why athletics is important at Henry Hudson as an alternative source of instruction and discipline.
Pritchard, who is Athletic Director for the school, noted the students meet directly with him for dialogue and discussion on a variety of topics, including the reading program they offer to encourage reading among the young.
The high school scholar athletes visited the second graders and read them books geared to that age level. The books were provided by 2nd and 7th, a non-profit group in Columbus, Ohio, whose mission is “to promote reading by providing free books and positive role models to kids in need, while encouraging young athletes of the community to pay it forward. T”
The high school students also presented the books to the elementary school children and are already planning next year’s event when they will once again read and present books to the second grade.
“The second graders loved hanging out with the “big kids”, Pritchard said, in explaining some of the benefits of the program. “First the high schoolers read the books to the second graders, and then some of the little ones were reading the books to the high schoolers. After that, it turned into a really nice “hang out session”, he laughed, adding “There may have been some “Simon Says” involved too!”
In addition to serving as Athletic Director at Henry Hudson, Pritchard is also the school’s vice principal, and in that role also continues his leadership and contact with all so the student body through programs and example of discipline, instructional leadership, culture and climate. He has been at Henry Hudson for the past three years and sees the Leadership Council as a strong program that not only enables the high school students to introduce younger grades to the high school through their own enthusiasm and love of reading
“I am very proud of our Hudson Athletic Leadership Council and their participation in the reading program with the second graders,” the vice principal said. “They jumped at the opportunity when I told them about this program. Once we arrived at the elementary schools, after some introductions from myself and the classroom teachers, our scholar-athletes led the charge and had so much fun with our little ones!” They all had a blast, second graders and high school teens together.” At the same time, Pritchard pointed out, the program highlights the core values our athletes practice.”
Currently, there are 13 members on the Leadership Council, and with nine of them seniors, Pritchard said he is already recruiting other members to continue the activity and outreach of the program . The program aims at continuing to instill in the teenagers the impact their “Admiral’s Way” and their athletic program, with its discipline and dedication, has on younger children.
