BMX riders talk to Jackson elementary students about bullying

Students at Orchard Elementary in Jackson had many questions Thursday morning for a duo of BMX riders who performed at a special assembly outside the school.

Minutes earlier they cheered loudly while watching Bill Nitschke and Tyler Sparr perform backward wheelies and stunt jumps.

"How long does it take to learn to do that?" asked one student.

"It takes a long time," Nitschke said. "We are making this look very easy, when it is actually very difficult, so it just shows that you can't give up no matter how challenging something might be."

The riders are part of the Wonder Wheels BMX Stunt Team, an Indianapolis-based group that travels the country delivering positive messages to students on topics such as anti-bullying, alcohol and drug awareness, sports safety and reading. Last year the riders performed an assembly for students at South Elementary.

This year, Orchard Elementary's Parent-Teacher Organization president Laura Waters saw an opportunity to bring the riders back. The pair were performing a show in Illinois this week, so the organization, which sponsored the assembly, saved money on the group's travel time, she said.

Nitschke and Sparr perform a two-part show featuring flatland and ramp riding tricks, with a question-and-answer session and the delivery of their message in the middle. Orchard chose anti-bullying for the theme.

Anti-bullying in the form of national campaigns in schools and online have become common in recent years, especially in states like Missouri, where a law requiring schools to have an anti-bullying policy was revised in 2010 to include cyberbullying. Forty-seven states have some form of anti-bullying law.

Nitschke told the students his experience with a bully in sixth grade while practicing riding tricks with friends.

"He said we weren't any good and that we should quit," Nitschke said. "I thought the best thing I could do was ride away. We rode away, had fun on our bikes and when we came back later he was gone."

Nitschke told the students that when a bully comes into to their life the bully takes their time away -- time they could be using to work on their dreams and goals. He told them that if they were ever bullied they should nicely ask the person to stop treating them badly and tell an adult.

"If you can do your part to get rid of bullies, you can succeed," he said. "I avoided bullies, and I became a professional bike rider by age 19."

Nitschke and Sparr also spoke about the importance of reading.

"Pick up a book or magazine on something you are interested in," Nitschke told the students. "You get to see things however you want to and use your imagination."

Second-grade teacher Emily Brune said she thought the show was the best assembly the school has had. She said she thought the students would take the messages of the riders to heart.

"This is exciting," she said. "They are eating it up. They have been hanging on every word these guys have been saying."

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

1402 Orchard Drive, Jackson, MO