Nike hopes students 'PLAY' role in Phila.

Last year, corporate giant Nike Inc. called on college students across the country to "Participate in the Lives of America's Youth" -- and students at the University have risen to meet that challenge. More than 20 Penn students are members of the Nike PLAY Corps program -- a "Peace Corps for sports," according to Eric Gabrielson, coordinator of the national PLAY Corps program. Corps members coach sports programs in underprivileged neighborhoods for "minority kids who don't have access to good coaches or facilities," he said. The Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation places Corps volunteers at recreation centers in the West Philadelphia area to coach youth sports programs. "We're lucky to find these coaches," said Kevin Cush, director of the Lee Cultural Center at 44th Street and Haverford Avenue. More than 40 children from the area serviced by the center participate in a soccer program coached by PLAY Corps volunteers from Penn. Students receive a stipend and equipment from Nike in exchange for their service, but if you ask them, the rewards are far more intangible. College junior Benjamin Dillon focused on his interaction with the children he coaches, saying that participation in the program "takes you away from the Penn environment and brings you closer to their home." And for Penn students who formerly played competitive sports, volunteering in the Corps provides a way to see their sports from a coach's point of view. "This is a new experience," said College sophomore Mindy Spire, who coaches girls' basketball. "I can still be active on the court, the field [and] the track." But dealing with children from such diverse backgrounds is not all play for the student-coaches. "It was hard getting adjusted to the kids," Dillon said. "Some take longer to break out of their shells." As a result, discipline is a necessary addition to the game-playing, skill-training and sportsmanship lessons of the practices. But the children do not seem to mind their coaches' attempts to keep order. "They're cool," was the common sentiment of 10-year-olds such as Wayne Thompson and Dominic Bostich, both of West Philadelphia, who regularly play soccer in the program. Nationally, more than 200 students on 45 campuses in 20 cities take part in the program, Gabrielson said. He added that Philadelphia is "our strongest chapter of PLAY Corps coaches in the nation." Though Corps members can also be found at Temple and Villanova universities, according to Spire, the large number of Penn students makes up the core of the Philadelphia chapter. And their ranks only seem to be growing. At the PLAY Corps table on Locust Walk yesterday -- adorned with the traditional Nike "swoosh" symbol -- more than 60 would-be Corps members picked up applications. "There's proof for you," College junior Scott Hoffman said. Even with the initiative's success on the local level, the coaches realize they are only there to serve a real need in the community. "The kids need it," Spire said. "[They] need someone to give them some special attention they may not be getting at home or at school."