Children at Alto Park Elementary and McHenry Elementary enjoyed the championship atmosphere of the NAIA football championship game hosted in Rome this week.  Players from the two teams facing off in the title showdown to be held at Barron Stadium visited students on Thursday morning.  Players from University of Sioux Falls (from South Dakota, pictured above) visited Alto Park Elementary while players from Carroll College (from Montana) stopped in to see children at McHenry Primary School.

The players read to students and talked with them about character traits that make for successful college students and football players.  Really, they told of character traits that will make the children success on any path they chose to take in the future.  The message focused on the NAIA Champions of Character program.  The NAIA traits focused on in the program are: Respect, Integrity, Responsibility, Servant Leadership and Sportsmanship.

In the photo, a Sioux Falls player shares an impromptu geography lesson as he shows students in Mrs. Earlene Cameron’s class where the University of Sioux Falls is located.