Tigers escape bubble, connect with kids

Before the season began, Banghart received a unique set of congratulations in her mailbox. Students from Suzanne Merrill’s fifth-grade class at Lore Elementary School in Ewing, N.J., sent several cards, wishing the new coach and her team good luck in their upcoming season. Merrill, a friend of Banghart’s, facilitated the effort, but many of her students were already avid Princeton fans.

The Tigers were touched by the students’ show of support and wanted to find a way to reciprocate. So, on Oct. 29, the entire team decided to take a break from practice and hit the road for a visit to Ewing. Merrill’s students were jittery with excitement when their teacher broke the news. They immediately took initiative and set to work on preparations.

“The kids organized their own party for the team,” Merrill said. “Some students waited down the hall to escort the girls to the classroom and rolled out an orange carpet in front of the door. A couple others became [waiters] for snack time. They looked so professional ? they draped orange and black pieces of felt over their arms to look like serving towels.”

Junior guard Caitlin O’Neill was impressed by the grand welcome.

“They decorated the entire classroom with Princeton Tiger signs and welcomed us with three girls cheerleading in the hallway,” O’Neill said. “We had a blast!”

After the Tigers arrived, the Princeton girls distributed autographed team photos, much to the delight of their young fans. Then, the players and coaches sat down for a question-and-answer session. Merrill’s students had prepared rather sophisticated questions.

They asked Banghart and the assistant coaching staff about what persuaded them to pursue coaching and wanted advice from the girls about balancing work and basketball. Merrill observed that her students were particularly moved by the players’ responses.

“It was very powerful for them to hear advice from young adults,” Merrill said. “I can say things to them, their parents say things to them, but to hear what they know reinforced by people they really admire ? it was very powerful.”

Before leaving Lore, Princeton also visited a fourth-grade class, where the girls assisted with a science experiment and played a game.

The Tigers have acted as role models for young children several times during the season. On Feb. 9, Princeton stayed in Jadwin after its loss to Columbia to sign autographs and talk with players from two girls’ recreational basketball teams. At Lore, however, the girls were nervous before meeting with Merrill’s class. The students’ enthusiasm eased their worries, though, and soon the Tigers were enjoying the class party just as much as the fifth graders.

When it was time for Princeton’s players to leave, Merrill’s students had one last surprise: a poster for the Tigers to hang in their locker room. The players, however, had a better idea. Each team member signed the banner and left inspirational messages for the students. Today, the poster hangs in Merrill’s classroom.

“The kids still walk by it and read the messages,” Merrill said. “A lot of them don’t have strong role models to look up to, and so that visit was just so powerful.”

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Merrill and several members of her class plan to attend the Tigers’ game against Dartmouth this Saturday. Princeton will wear pink jerseys that night as part of its contribution to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s national “Think Pink” initiative against breast cancer. The Tigers hope to perform well for their special spectators, but — regardless of the outcome — the Princeton girls will certainly be winners in the eyes of Merrill’s class.