MARYSVILLE Last June, student leaders across Marysville-Pilchuck High got letters inviting them to help out one day around the school with painting, sweeping and the like.
Their parents may want to take notes, because most of the kids jumped at the chance.
To be fair, You Gotta Love This Place is more of a leadership camp than anything else.
Marysville athletic director Greg Erickson conceived the program in 1996, the year of the Mariners success and You Gotta Love These Guys. Erickson said he saw the program as a chance to recognize student leaders in athletics and give them an opportunity to help the school.
While students, teachers and coaches teamed up to tackle projects all over the M-P campus in the morning, the group broke for a barbecue lunch and leadership activities in the afternoon, including games and a motivational speaker.
The idea is we take some kids who are in a leadership position on campus and develop some ownership. If you paint something or clean it up, you tend to be a little more guarded about how people treat it, Erickson said. Its an incredible morale booster for not just the students, but the staff. You get a chance to see someone in a different light.
Senior and softball captain Chrissy Atterson was armed with a roller and a flat of red paint as she set out repainting the concrete forum in front of the school. Junior volleyball player Emily Boerger was seated nearby, touching up lettering that read Marysville-Pilchuck High School.
Softball is Attersons only sport, so while her select team Snohomish Pride is gearing up for fall ball, she is spending time on productive pursuits.
I want to get as involved as possible until the softball season starts, she said.
Alicia Coragicilo, a senior on the swim and dive team, echoed Ericksons intentions as her motivation to help shovel dirt in the small gardens between classrooms.
Its a good way to pay tribute to your school for the four years they gave you, she explained.
Cross country teammates Robin Mueller, Adaja Mathis and Brandon Nobach teamed up around a bucket of red paint to retouch the stairs and ramps on the backside of Tomahawk stadium discussing the upcoming season while they worked.
The entire project went off at no expense to the school. The maintenance crews provided supplies, ASB the food and Erickson the T-shirts to remind students of their hard work.
It makes sense. Lets do something for the school because the schools done something for you. At the same time, we can have fun doing it. The kids have a great time. They werent frowning. They were having a great time, he said. Kids take pride in the fact that they were invited and that they got to participate.