University of Massachusets Athletics
FEATURE: UMass Hockey Players Model Reading To Wide-Eyed Students
January 28, 2009 | Hockey
Jan. 28, 2009
SUNDERLAND, Mass. - On the day when the nation's new president stood before the country and asked its citizens to serve, University of Massachusetts hockey players Cory Quirk and Danny Hobbs sat, reading to wide-eyed students at Sunderland Elementary School.
''It's good to give back to the community,'' said Quirk, a senior and captain of the UMass squad. ''I never had a sports figure growing up to look up to.
Kids look up to us. They go to the games and point out, 'That's number 12 and 23.''' Quirk and Hobbs wear numbers 12 and 23 respectively.
Len Quesnelle, the team's assistant coach, organized the reading session.
His two daughters attend Sunderland elementary. ''It's a good way for the players to get into the community, to get integrated and give back,'' Quesnelle said. The UMass students are on their January break.
Moira Cranshaw, Sunderland elementary librarian, was ecstatic to have the players. ''I think they did a fabulous job,'' Cranshaw said of the visiting student-athletes. ''They showed there was many sides to them beyond hockey.''
Stressing academics was an important part of the visit for Quesnelle. ''Academics are a priority in their life,'' Quesnelle said of his players. ''If their example inspires one person to do well in school and the opportunities that opens up, it's worth it. These players are a good example,'' he continued, pointing out they earned the opportunity to play hockey for UMass because of their academics.
Quirk and Hobbs were part of a larger effort made by the team to get out and read to elementary students. Cranshaw said that students had been visited by various members of the team over the past couple weeks. Hobbs, a freshman forward who was drafted by the New York Rangers, read students ''The F Team,'' the tale of an overly confident group of hockey players who are beaten at their own game by a squad of figure skaters.
Quirk, a native of Brockton, read ''Stanley's Party,'' the story of a mischievous pooch who throws a party one night when his owners are away.
Quirk said it was important for students to learn that, ''It's fun to read.
''They see us and want to read, too. It's lead by example,'' interjected Hobbs.
For their part, Sunderland students were eager to know all about the collegiate skaters' hockey careers.
Student Maha Osterlin wanted to know when Quirk and Hobbs began to skate.
Quirk said he began when he was 4, his father placing egg crates on the ice for him to lean against as he pushed his way across the ice. One student wanted to know whether either player was ever nervous when he began skating. Hobbs said that he had been, at first, seeing others skating around the rink while he fell, but noted that through practice one can achieve their goals. ''The more you do something, the better at it you'll be,'' he told the attentive students, who sat on their edge of their seats, captivated by his every word.
Osterlin seemed to sum up the mood of the Sunderland students. Asked about her reaction to the player's visit, she said, ''It was cool.''
