Kudos: College Basketball Players Hold Clinic at Juvenile Correctional Facility

Four members of the Fort Hays State University (FHSU) basketball team, with Assistant Coach Sean Dreiling, visited the Larned Juvenile Correctional Facility (LJCF) in late August to teach basketball and encourage young people to make healthy life choices.
“They’ve been doing this for several years, and it really makes an impact on the young men,” said LJCF Chaplain David Hales. “This is a chance for them to interact with heroes in their eyes.”
For the FHSU players, one of the benefits of helping with the clinic is in the experience of coaching. Though NCAA rules prohibit them from playing against the youth, they can supervise drills and demonstrate techniques. The clinic includes contests, competitions and drills, and culminates with a scrimmage, which the FHSU players coach and officiate.
FHSU assistant coach Jeremy Brown has been bringing players from his program to LJCF for clinics for the past several years. He said the college students benefit from the experience of seeing life inside a correctional facility and from giving of their time to a good cause. “Our guys have worked hard and made a lot of good choices to be where they are, and for them to go and set a good example and encourage the youth at LJCF is a really special,” said Brown. 

Image: Fort Hays State University Coach teaching shooting, courtesy of the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Avery Klein is a digital and social media intern at Prichard Communications. She is from Springfield, Missouri where she attends Missouri State University and is studying public relations, advertising and promotions, and ethical leadership. She loves traveling, discovering new restaurants, social media and her two darling dogs.