Hearts of Champions

Hoop dreams weren’t the only things on the minds of Rice men’s basketball players this fall. Just a little over two weeks before the team held its first practice for the upcoming season, the team and coaching staff visited nearby Shriners Hospital for Children to help lift the spirits of the young patients and their families.

At the end of the visit, the only question on the mind of Rice head coach Willis Wilson was “Who enjoyed the afternoon more, the children or the Owl players?”

“This is a voluntary trip we make from time to time, and it’s just amazing each and every time,” Wilson said. “The faces of those kids just light up when they get visitors, and by the end of the afternoon, our team is having just as good a time as the children they came to see.
“These young patients are very brave and inspirational,” Wilson added. “Our players sure get a sense of that, and it’s really easy to be moved. If we brightened their day, that is great because I know they brightened ours.”

For the better part of the afternoon, the Rice players participated with the children in their daily activities, including a host of games and crafts. Margaret Harlan, a child life assistant for the hospital, said the impact of the Owls’ visit was easy to see.

“Having the Rice players come over was a tremendous treat for the children and made them more active than I’ve seen them in quite some time,” Harlan said. “Being active is an important part of their rehabilitation, and today some kids were finally doing things that we’ve been hoping to see. A lot made a real effort to come out of their rooms when they heard the team was here because they didn’t want to miss them.”

The visit was held in the hospital’s activity area, but when Baker College junior Omar-Seli Mance, Lovett College senior T. J. McKenzie, and Sid Rich College junior Michael Walton were informed that one six-year-old patient was not able to make it out of her room, the trio made it a point to take a little extra time to visit her. The girl was from South America and didn’t speak any English, but through a translator, the players explained that she could see the Rice campus from her window and that they hoped she could come to one of their games this season.

The girl’s smiles needed no translation.

“Different groups will come visit but to have a college basketball team was really extra special,” Harlan noted. “Adults always seem big to kids but these basketball players are so tall and athletic that I think the kids were kind of in awe. The team wasn’t just in one area either. They interacted in all the different areas, and that was pretty unique.

“I know the kids, their families, and the hospital staff are all very thankful that Rice’s basketball team took the time to come out. It really means a lot.”

—John Sullivan