Mountaineers help students make positive choices

Toowoomba Mountaineers launch program to help school kids make positive choices and form good habits.

GOOD HABITS: Mountaineers players Harold Ridgeway and Donnaizha Fountain talk with Middle Ridge State School students Laura Fry and Harry Junior Patterson about the club's Positive Choices program. Picture: Nev Madsen

BASKETBALL: The Toowoomba Mountaineers are doing their part to create a positive future for young children across the Darling Downs.

The basketball club tipped-off its Positive Choices program at Middle Ridge State School recently - a program designed to help kids form good habits.

"I'm a firm believer of doing what you can to help other people,” Mountaineers chairman John Gouldson said.

"And so many people who have come to me for help are in trouble because of their choices they made earlier in their lives and the bad habits they formed as a result of those choices.

"What we are trying to do through our Positive Choices program is to further educate young kids and to teach them about forming good habits - about making positive.

"We want to be proactive not reactive.”

So far the Mountaineers have visited 10 schools across the Darling Downs and Gouldson says more visits are already planned.

"Every Mountaineers player in the both the SBL and QBL squads is involved in the program,” Gouldson said.

"We visit primary and secondary schools and it begins with a basic 20-minute presentation and we use basketball as the way to convey the message.

"We run a few very basic drills and we show them what happens when you throw a bad pass or turn the wrong way.

"We then talk about how you need to think about your decisions, be positive and make good choices.

"We want to help them learn and form good habits now so they have them as adults.”

Schools participating in the Good Choices program are then encouraged to enter teams in the basketball competition.

"Every one of those teams has a Mountaineers mentor or coach,” Gouldson said.

"They're there at the games helping and encouraging the kids to give it their all.

"It's our way of connecting with and giving back to the community that supports us.”

Originally published as Mountaineers help students make positive choices