All across the country, student athletes can be seen helping their community. And that's a big part of "Aggie Play" in Las Cruces.
When Dr. Phillip Post came up with Aggie Play to get young girls in Las Cruces more active… he was in dire need of help.
His initial source was the student female athletes at New Mexico State. Since then… he hasn’t regretted doing so.
“The female student athletes here at NMSU I think are great… They are committed to their community.”
Post says it is an easy sell for the student athletes to come out to Aggie Play and volunteer. It gives them a chance to interact with the young girls to get them motivated.
Not only do the girls benefit from the athletes, but so do the parents.
“The parents seem to recognize this kind of unique relationship… where we have a young adult, who has been successful… they are in college… they are a student athlete… they are managing those demands… and my girl get to interact with them.”
One team at NMSU that Post says helps out tremendously is the women’s tennis team. They constantly come out each week as a team no matter what is going on in their demanding lives.
Senior Gabby Joyce is one tennis player Post says he can rely on every week to show up and who has a lot of fun doing so.
“I really like playing with kids. I work at summer camps over the summer that work with tennis but this awesome because I think it is a real problem that people aren’t working out as much whenever you’re younger.”
Joyce and her teammates really enjoy that the program is for girls only and can relate to how young girls feel about participating in physical activity.
“I know I was too in middle school… Like you… Whenever you are playing with the guys you might get pushed to the side a little bit.”
Aggie Play has come a long way since the program began. Post hopes the student athletes’ interaction with the young girls will have life changing effects on both.