Teammates Program Matches Adult With Youth

The high school and middle school years are challenging at best. They are a time of making the leap from childhood to the teenage years and then to young adulthood, and all of the stress and confusion that comes with it.

Sometimes success is as simple as having someone to talk to, someone to vent to without judgement. Making your way through the day could be as simple as having someone who has been there to offer some guidance. That is where Teammates comes into play.

Teammates is a mentoring program started by former University of Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne and his wife Nancy in 1991. It began by pairing 22 University of Nebraska-Lincoln football players with the same number of Lincoln middle school students, according to the Teammates website. The concept started with Osborne believing the athletes could make an impact on the students. Of the 22 original students in the program, 21 graduated from high school and 18 of the 21 went on to post-secondary education programs.

The Teammates program grew to statewide recognition in 1998 and now has chapters in other states as well. It is in more than 135 communities, according to Stacey Hanley, acting president of the Sidney chapter.

In Sidney, the program is school-based, offering a team students can spend time with an adult at lunch. It is not designed for activities outside of school. Hanley said in the past the program has focused on students in grades fifth through ninth. Partly because of the limited number of mentors, the focus is now on students grades nine through 12.

Hanley, who is a mentor as well as a board member, said called the experience of developing a relationship with a student "a good feeling."

"It's gratifying setting down and having lunch for an hour," he said.

He said he enjoys it because he loves football and so does his student.

Hanley added in the two years he has been with the program there has been no negative responses. Students, referred to as "mentees," and adult mentors are interviewed before pairings are done. Hanley said there are more than 70 pairs of mentors/mentees in Sidney High School. Mentors are expected to meet with their student at least once each week.

Hanley said the equation is simple. Just plan on spending time with the student - mentee - you are paired with; no agenda and no expectations. He admits as a parent that sometimes teens seek advice from other sources before parents, and that is one of the reasons for Teammates.

"The worst part of it is seeing a kid on a waiting list," he said.

He stressed the program is not designed as an intervention as if teens in the program are troubled or in the court system. Teammates is about young people having someone in their lives they can trust and look up to, someone who they can talk to about things they are interested in, and for advice when they need it.

To learn more about Teammates or to get involved, contact Lacy Russell at Sidney Middle School or Ashley Fehringer at Sidney High School.