BATON ROUGE — In the spirit of the holiday season the LSU gymnastics team took time out of their final exam studies to participate in the Kid’s Bike Race and Adapted Bike Day.
The squad paired up with volunteers from the McMains Children’s Developmental Center. MCDC is a multidisciplinary center for children with cerebral palsy. The center’s main focus is to provide an adapted play program that gives the children an opportunity to participate in normal activity.
“Having the opportunity to work with Janet Ketcham and the wonderful people at the McCains Children Developmental Center is heart warming and inspiring for our student-athletes and staff,” said head coach D-D Breaux. “The children and their families are so friendly and appreciative of everything.”
As part of the bike race each gymnast handed out helmets, instructed the children on biking and bike safety and cheered the kids on to victory. The gymnast also teamed up with the racers to assist them through the course and cross the finish line.
Community service is one of the cornerstones of the LSU gymnastics program. The Tigers logged the most hours of community service by any of the LSU’s sports program during the 2007-08 academic year.
Most of the children who participated in the race will also being acting in the intercity Christmas Nutcracker join the children and the LSU gymnastics team for some holiday entertainment on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Independence Park Theatre.