The afternoon of Dec. 6 was one of the picture-perfect fall afternoons when Southern California residents thank the cloudless heavens for where they live. Temperatures were in the 70s and the air was fresh from the heavy rains that had pelted the area earlier in the week.

That was the backdrop for a day when nearly 100 kids from the San Fernando Valley area attended All Sports Day at California State University, Northridge, where children in grades 1 through 8 learned about different sports and received some life skills lessons in the process.

Based on a similar yearly event developed by Bay Area philanthropists Tim and Peanut Harper — founders of Harper for Kids — All Sports Day allowed kids to play sports and learn lessons from legendary former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success.

CSUN baseball coach Greg Moore learned about the Harpers’ event and sought to replicate it this year on campus. Kids were assigned to groups based on their ages and participated in various stations where they learned some basic skills in baseball, softball, soccer, water polo, basketball and volleyball. Leading the way were several CSUN student-athletes, and at each station there were lessons given from different blocks in Wooden’s Pyramid.

“We understand their age. They’re not going to take the full, complex understanding of who coach Wooden was, but he was a good example,” said Moore, now in his second year at CSUN. “So if we can get them to key on one block of his pyramid that’s designed for kids, they’re going to leave here with a seed of something that will grow down the line when they play more sports or when they work in class.”

The enthusiasm with which the kids attacked the sports was matched by the energy of the student-athletes working with them, even though those same student-athletes were studying for their final exams.

“Fun is first here,” Moore said. “They need to appreciate what the sport is and understand that part of the joy is getting to run on a grass field until you fall over. We keep that in mind when we play.

“[The student-athletes] understand that these kids don’t care what their batting average is. Our athletes put effort into teaching the kids a sport, showing the young people that they care. They either know that or they sense it. You can’t stop smiling right now.”

Moore would like to continue to have this event on a regular basis, further cementing CSUN’s reputation as the area’s premier university in the eyes of these young people. Participants may one day aspire to play for a college team, said Moore, but more importantly, they can experience a college campus now and begin to think about higher education.

“This whole event is designed to first teach, second show off the beauty of this campus and third, to show the excitement around athletics — and that’s because of the student-athletes,” Moore said. “It’s because of the example that they set and the skills they’re developing. So when a young person gets the opportunity to meet with them and get a smile from an 18-year-old, they’re disarmed and know they’re going to learn something and have fun.”

CSUN Baseball, Events, Featured