On ball with Adopt-a-school

THE moment Ben Hampton walked through the door, the smiles on the faces at Shalom Christian College were brighter than a Cheshire cat.

The injured Cowboys utility was an instant celebrity with the children, and they were hanging off his every word.

It definitely helped as he pulled on the teacher’s cap to marshal the troops for an exciting game of touch footy and soccer.

The kids were brimming with excitement and nobody was holding back as they all attempted to get one over their high-profile visitor.

“A couple of the young girls there were really good; they were really ripping in. I think they showed a bit more skill than some of the boys, to be honest,” he said.

“I played a bit of footy and a little bit of soccer, and it was just great to see all the kids jump in, participate and really have a go.”

It brought back instant memories for the boy from Mareeba, who was once on the other side of the classroom meeting his own NRL heroes.

“It’s unreal seeing the smiling kids. I can remember back when I was in primary school and we would have Cowboys players come up and do stuff with us. It was one of the best things I remember about my schooling,” he said.

“Now being on the other end of it … the feeling is pretty hard to describe; the impact we have on young kids these days is just massive. The more we can hold up our end and do stuff like this, I think the better the kids will be.”

Hampton was at the school as part of the Cowboys Adopt-a-school program, which is the club’s major community program, introduced to drive participation in education by using players as positive role models for students.

It was a special moment for the school, which was reopened this year under the auspices of Queensland-based not-for-profit organisation Carinity. The school currently caters for indigenous students from Prep to Year 7, most from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, and plans to progressively introduce more year levels up to Year 12.