Monday, February 04, 2008

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb 4., 2008) - The Johnson City Public Library hosted members of the ETSU athletics department last Thursday for an afternoon of teaching games and sportsmanship to area children.

ETSU's strength and conditioning coach Lee Morrow brought women's tennis star Tara Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Buccaneer sophomore catcher Danny Petro (Atlanta) to the library so they can interact with the children away from their respective sport. 

"I was so excited to have Tara and Danny come play with the children today," said Betty Cobb, the JCPL Director of Youth Services. "The kids had such a great time hanging out with the athletes and playing games."

The library has a JCPL Explorers program, which is designed for the children to meet every fourth Thursday of the month. This program not only encourages children to read, but it also creates awareness for them to have an active and healthy lifestyle.

Coach Morrow and the ETSU athletes played a handful of fulfilled games with the children. Those games included crab soccer, bean-bag toss, hula-hoop races, and giant ball-toss. Morrow was the instructor for each game while Byrne and Petro joined teams and cheered on their young teammates.

There was excitement across the Jones Meeting room when the Buccaneer athletes arrived. Morrow even asked Cobb if she needed them to quiet down but she told the Coach that she was absolutely fine with the kids' enthusiasm and was happy to see them having a great time.

Please visit www.ETSUBucs.com for more information on ETSU's community service projects.