WINONA LAKE – For the men and women of the Grace College basketball programs, most likely spent their high school and even college years being recognized for being top-flight athletes at their schools. For at least one morning, “celebrity” went to a whole new level.

The looks on the kid’s faces at the Kiddle Kollege at Free United Methodist Church in Winona Lake when the Grace men’s basketball players walked into the classrooms said everything. It was like Mick Jagger walking into a Liverpool tavern or Peyton Manning taking a stroll through the Keystone mall. It was hard not to notice. The same held true with the Grace women’s basketball team at Washington STEM Academy in Warsaw. Instant adulation.

“They are college basketball players, which are huge celebrities to these kids,” said Washington principal Tom Ray. “Especially because some of the kids that go here go to the Grace camps. They know some of these girls. And they are on the kid’s turf, their school. The kids here think this is really cool.”

The basketball teams from Grace, along with the 14 other college programs comprising the field of the NCCAA Men’s and Women’s National Basketball Tournaments, were at different sites all over the greater Warsaw area serving through community service projects. The Tuesday activities had teams at most of the area elementary schools along with a pair of retirement homes, the Salvation Army, Combined Community Services, Heartline Pregnancy Center and Lakeland Christian Academy.

The 16 teams all met first thing Tuesday morning for a brief chapel at Grace College, then the morning groups left for their projects. Some teams also served this afternoon. The Grace men arrived at Kiddie Kollege around 9:45 a.m. and broke into groups, half helping paint bathrooms in the church attached to the Kiddie Kollege and the other half breaking into pairs to take on the classrooms of starstruck two to five-year-old fans. The wide eyes of the five-year-olds who saw 6’6″ Jared Treadway and 7’1″ Adrian Makolli grab Dr. Seuss books sold the morning.

Others found the going not so peaceful as Sam Daniels was buried alive in the ball pit in a play room full of adoring boys. For Niko Read, he just tried to stay within the lines as he painted trim upstairs away from the commotion of the youthful exuberance.

“Last year, we were more than excited to host a team from Oklahoma, and they were just as excited to be here,” said Jen Nier, director at Kiddie Kollege. “We were preparing for a big concert here and the girls served as the audience and made the kids feel really good. Today, the kids were so excited that these huge basketball players were coming. This has been a great experience for us, and the kids love it.”

Grace College volleyball head coach Andria Harshman, who helped coordinate the service projects, also had a son, Gaige, in the ball pit “gently tossing” balls at Daniels. Harshman was doubly satisfied with how the projects have taken flight.

“This is the one time that a lot of these kids may see someone who is seven feet tall come to their classroom and interact with them,” Harshman said. “The interaction is so special. Today is a big day for all 16 teams here. I know most of them are itching to get to tomorrow and start playing basketball. But, this is a nice way to relax a little bit, and serve at the same time which is a big focus of the NCCAAs.”

At Washington, with ISTEP testing going on the atmosphere wasn’t nearly the same. But the level of fanfare was just as high. The Grace women spent a lot of time reading with students, working in the art rooms and helping organize technology equipment in Ben Barkey’s classroom where students are, among many things, building robots.

“This is one of the things the ladies ask about first. Where are we going? When is it?” said Grace College women’s head basketball coach Scott Blum. “With ISTEP going on, we didn’t have a big welcoming committee, but the team loves doing this. They all find their niche. They find something to be proud of. And sometimes, our ladies leave more impacted from the feedback than we give. That means a lot to me as a coach.”

Grace men’s basketball coach Jim Kessler, helping maintain order in the painting sessions, shared similar sentiments.

“The community service projects are a consistent concept, which really exemplifies what a Christian college is all about,” Kessler said. “The players really enjoy it. When you think about it, these guys are famous for throwing a piece of leather through a ring. Is that really what it’s all about? Does it matter? I don’t think so. Being able to give back to the community that supports you is. And the looks on the kids faces does make it worth while. We want our young men to learn a little about themselves, then go forward and be leaders in their communities.”