THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 8, 1996 TAG: 9608070115
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 123 lines
IF CLINTON JENKINS and his associates with the SPOR-AC summer youth program realize their hope, more than 200 city youngsters will go back to school next month with a more positive attitude.
There is no doubt in Shakiya Whitaker's mind that the youngsters in the program will come out with a new outlook and enhanced ability to relate to their peers. Shakiya, 13, used the experience she gained from attending the first SPOR-AC sessions last summer to become a conflict mediator in her eighth grade class at John Yeates Middle School last year.
And she enjoyed the program so much that she signed up again this year.
SPOR-AC, sponsored by the city, the Suffolk public schools, and SPOR-AC Inc., is an academic and athletic summer program that emphasizes team building, group problem solving, and positive reenforcement of productive decisions and behavior.
The program, funded by the city for its first two years, is free to participants.
The two three-week sessions, this year held at Lakeland High School, were open to any 11- to 15-year-old registered in any Suffolk public middle school. About 225 children attended SPOR-AC this year.
After breakfast each morning the SPOR-AC kids break into small groups for the academic portion of the day. This is not a review math, brush up on history session, but a staff led, kid-powered open discussion on communication, human relations and conflict resolution.
``We try to get the kids involved in whatever they want to discuss,'' Jenkins said. He is the president of the SPOR-AC board of directors.
A highlight of each session is a trip to the Airfield 4H center in Wakefield where the students tackle a challenging ropes and obstacle course designed to further develop their initiative and sense of teamwork.
Middle school age is difficult for many preteens and young teenagers, according to program director Larry Gamble. ``Their personalities are still developing, and they are exposed to so much,'' he said. ``They need someone to look up to and guide them in the right direction.
``We are trying to show them that there is another way to do things other than your way, especially in making decisions like, `Do I fight or do I walk away'?''
After a break for lunch, everyone heads for sports with the chance to play at least two or three every day.
``A lot of teenagers relate to sports,'' Jenkins said. ``The academic portion helps them make sound decisions, a skill they then transfer onto the court or field.''
Fundamentals, whether in academics, peer relationsions, or sports, are basic to SPOR-AC. The youngsters are not just turned loose on a field with a ball, but are given structured lessons in the fundamental techniques of each sport, whether it is an individual sport like golf or a team sport like volleyball.
Over on the tennis courts Chavez Mabry, local tennis pro and Suffolk city tennis champion, is leading a group of youngsters in a tennis drill.
Mabry, a Suffolk native, is also a teacher and tennis coach at Nansemond River High School.
``When I look at them, the feeling I get is deeply rooted in how I grew up,'' Mabry said. ``I didn't have a program like this and was just lucky getting into tennis.
``Tennis is something most of these kids are not introduced to and when they first come out here there is a lot of peer pressure to not like it and act like a butt head,'' he said. ``But after a while they start listening, like it, and say, `This is cool.' ''
When Meghann King's mother first suggested SPOR-AC to her, Meghann, 12, was leery. ``I thought she wanted to get rid of me,'' she said. ``I thought I'd see a bunch of people I would not really want to talk to.''
Meghann, who is a rising seventh-grader at Forest Glen, is not very sports oriented yet ``but I wanted to learn how to make new friends and how to play soccer and softball better.''
Lakesha Broadly, 11 and also a seventh-grader at Forest Glen, likes sports, especially basketball, but feels she learned even more from the acacemic portion of the program. ``We learned stuff we will need to know next year in school, like if we feel we are going to get into an argument we need to talk it out instead of fighting,'' she said.
Like many others on the staff, Tara Baker, a teaching assistant at Forest Glen, wanted to stay in touch with kids during the summer. ``They are challenging but they are very smart and ask a lot of questions: why? why? why?'' she said.
Gamble summed up the staff's feelings when he said, ``You have got to love kids to do this.''
As for the future of the SPOR-AC program, ``We will just have to wait and see,'' Jenkins said. He hopes the board will be able to develop a partnership with the business community that, combined with grants, will continue to fund the program.
``We also hope to expand the program to include younger children as well as older kids to teach them to be productive members of the business community,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
COURSE FOR CHANGE
ON THE COVER
Karlisa Hayes works on her control of the tennis ball under the
watchful eye of Arnice Monroe, a staff member of the SPOR-AC program
at Lakeland High School. Staff photo by John H. Sheally II.
Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Gladys Parker jots down some ideas during a session on constructive
criticism in a SPOR-AC class at Lakeland High School.
Staffer Daryl Mizelle, left, works with Stephan Simmions on passing
a football during one of the sports clinics. Participants played two
or three sports each day.
LEFT: Passing a tennis ball from racket to racket like a game of
``hot potato'' is one way to learn ball control.
RIGHT: Staffer Natika Boone goofs off with Kenard Tillery during an
academic session at SPOR-AC.
WHAT IT IS
SPOR-AC, in its second year, combines sports and academics in a
fun setting.
It is the brainchild of City Councilman Charles H. Brown, who led
a group of citizens who shared his conviction that such a program
was needed to help some students understand the importance of
learning.
Changing attitudes and work habits is the primary mission, and
SPOR-AC leaders say they have seen positive results in student
behavior and school work.
Students apply initially with guidance couselors. by CNB