Varsity seniors make an impact providing high school sports wisdom at Landis Run

Last Friday, March 22nd, Andrew Flury and Trey Eckman, seniors for the Varsity Blue Streaks, visited Landis Run Intermediate School to discuss high school life and athletics with a select group of 75 fifth and sixth grade students as part of the school’s PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports) incentive program.

Flury, a catcher for the Blue Streaks, said the pair spoke about what it is like to be on a high school sports team, how to manage your academic grades, and how to maintain eligibility for athletics in high school. One of their primary messages for the potential future high school athletes centered around believing in themselves no matter their development path. “We talked about how the sections [of youth sports] don’t matter – the kids are going to grow, they’re going to get bigger and stronger if they keep doing the right things. We have kids from all sections on our team right now,” Eckman stated in a recap of the event.

In addition to the prepared topics the two presented, the attending students had a chance to ask both seniors various questions as part of a Q&A session. “A lot of them were wondering about our favorite sports teams and who we like as a player – so a lot of baseball related questions,” Flury recalled.

Varsity head coach, Matt Kirchoff, was more than happy to send the pair of students to Landis Run. “Any time you have the opportunity to get in front of the youth in our school district, it’s imperative. Even if you only reach one student, whether that kid is a fan of baseball or wants to play baseball, it’s important for them to understand the message of what it means to be a student athlete. It’s not easy – it’s a competitive place and doing the right things all the time matters,” Kirchoff said. Also on mentoring younger student athletes, Flury added: “[High school] is a completely different game – a complete step up, so for them to have that guidance for how to approach it is hopefully going to be helpful.”

Later that afternoon, Flury and Eckman took the field at Westfield Insurance Park for the Varsity season opener against Solanco. Following the 6-1 victory, Eckman was greeted on the field by Gavin, one of the Landis Run students in attendance earlier in the day. The visit was an impactful moment for Eckman: “I guess whatever I said stuck with him and he came to the game and asked for a picture after. It makes me feel good as a person that what I said made enough of an impact on his day to come out.”

Kirchoff reflected: “It’s kind of humbling to see a kid stay for 7 innings on a colder day and watch a ballgame. Trey made an impression on him, which was great to see, and you never know how far that goes and to pay that forward is what we try to do as a program.”