(Peru, Neb.) – “The visit by the Peru State football athletes absolutely made Cole's day.  I was extremely impressed with how each one of them handled themselves,” was the comment made by Karen, mother of Cole.
 
Cole was one of many young patients visited recently by six Peru State College Bobcat football players at the Children's Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha.  Seniors Neil Bowman (Cedar Bluffs) and Jeremy Crump (Omaha) organized the trip as part of their leadership responsibilities as Bobcat Elite Leaders. 
 
This spring, with reorganization in the football coaching staff, a new program was used as part of the spring conditioning.  Bobcat Elite Leaders were determined and then other members of the football team were placed on each team.   Various goals and targets were set, including community service possibilities, as ways for teams to compete with each other during the rest of the spring.
 
Bowman, a former patient himself at Children's, worked with Crump to organize the trip.  They made all of the arrangements and plans after receiving the blessing to do so from the football coaching staff and the College's athletic director. 
 
The intended outcome was gained by the players as they wanted to do something to pay it forward, especially hoping it would be of benefit to those they visited.  Cole's mother added, “ I know it can't be easy to come up and see all these children with cancer, but they (the Bobcat football players) definitely rose to the occasion and were extremely friendly and outgoing!  We really do hope to make it to a Peru State game next year!”
 
The players visited Children's on Friday, March 16.  Once there, Rob Harding, a Community Resource Specialist with Children's, greeted them.  Harding took the players to the sixth floor of the center which is recovery floor.  They went door-to-door to see if the patients wanted visitors.  During the time there, the group visited between 15 to 20 patients and gave each a signed Bobcat head.
 
The following are some of the individual player comments:
 
For Bowman, this was not a new experience.  Bowman said, “For most of my teammates, this was a new experience and an eye-opening one.  I had got this idea back when my grandpa was having chemo treatments.  Knowing that kids were experiencing the same thing, I wanted to do something to help pay back in some manner.”  In conclusion, Bowman added, “Having been in Children's myself when I was young with a heart condition, I know I liked having visitors.  It was a good day and those we visited seemed to be really glad we were there.”
 
Another senior, Tony Traynor (Waterloo) thought it was a pretty cool experience.   Traynor noted, “For me, this is a once in a lifetime type of experience.  Not many people get to do this or just take the initiative to make a visit.  I was surprised at how the kids liked our visits.”  Talking about Cole, Traynor concluded, “Cole was one in particular that I remember as he had a smile on his face the whole time.  He just kept talking to us about football and that he was a Bobcat, too, as his peewee team was the Bobcats.”
 
As one of the organizers, Crump commented that it was a very good experience meeting the little kids.  He said, “It was just a good thing for us to do.  It was not just to get publicity for PSC football as it really seemed like all of us and the kids, too, really enjoyed the visits.  From my part, it seemed to help spread a little positive light on things for them.  I definitely would be willing to do this again sometime.”
 
The youngest Bobcat player to make the trip was Jake Long, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo.  Long commented, “My first reaction when I walked in there was, wow, how fortunate do I feel because my situation is so different from those in Children's.  It was a very great experience and I would love to do it again.  I would make sure to take others as seeing the expressions on the kids' faces were priceless.  Again, it was a great experience.”
 
A senior from Murdock, Austin Barnes was the fifth member of the group.  “I have never done anything like that before.  It was a pretty awesome experience to say the least.  To see kids that young fighting through something like this – something most of us don't experience, it was inspiring to see how they were fighting and handling it,” noted Barnes.  He added, “I remember visiting in particular with Drake, a really young kid.  He was really into fire trucks and kept talking about them.   Drake was really shy at first, but when he learned that Graf (Dayton Graf – a junior from Lincoln) was a volunteer firefighter, he really lit up.  His mother helped him understand that Dayton got to drive one and he was then really excited.”
 
The Peru State College Athletic Department is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and participates in the NAIA's Champions of Character program.  The program has established five core values that go well beyond the playing field to the daily decisions of the participants.  The core values help student-athletes to make good choices in all aspects of their life.
 
One of the core values is servant leadership – serving the greater good.  Bowman stated in conclusion, “The Bobcat football team does believe in the Champions of Character and our coaches remind us that we need to be sure to give back to the community and others.”
 
About 90 Bobcats have just started spring practice that will culminate with a battle with the Alumni on Saturday, April 21.  They will open their fall campaign on the road next fall when they face Dakota State University in Madison, S.D. on August 25.