Playing on a team at Colorado College involves more than just working on athletic skills. CC emphasizes the development of the student athlete in all aspects of his or her college life, from academics to community involvement.

CC football players Jake Craig ’06, Drew Millar ’08, and Marquis Malcom ’08 (in striped pants) participated in a skills clinic for children at Fort Carson whose parents were deployed to Iraq. Photo by Walt Johnson for the Fort Carson Mountaineer.

Bob Bodor, men’s football coach, says, “When I came here three years ago, I bought into CC’s philosophy that we have a responsibility to our students that is more than just coaching them on the field.” For many CC athletes, their competitive careers end when they finish college. Bodor says coaches have a responsibility to help student athletes prepare for what they will do with the rest of their lives, and community service is one way to do this.

In the last year, the athletics department sponsored more than 30 community service projects and fundraisers benefiting elementary- and middle-school-aged children as well as a variety of local nonprofits, among them:

• The women’s soccer team read to children at Edison Elementary School for National Young Readers Day.
• Hockey players helped Care and Share prepare for a food drive.
• The women’s lacrosse team held a clinic for local middle school kids.
• The men’s basketball team ran a skills competition, handing out awards to 120 Special Olympians.

More than 230 girls ranging in age from preschool through high school attended CC’s National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration during one of the women’s basketball home contests. Team members from 10 women’s varsity teams as well as several women’s club sports put together displays and manned tables; Olympian and world champion mountain bicyclist Alison Dunlap ’91, above, signed autographs and talked about professional sports. Photo by Rick Merriam.

Other organizations that benefited from CC teamwork include TESSA (an anti-domestic violence organization), Community Partnership for Child Development/Head Start, Christmas Unlimited,
4-Paws Rescue, Partners in Housing, and Adopt-A-Child, among many others.

Coaches work with the Center for Service and Learning to connect teams and projects. “We also take direction from the students. They have causes they have a passion for,” says Kelly Mahlum, women’s basketball coach. Students quickly responded to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina; several athletic teams immediately started a fund to aid in rescue efforts.

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