Notre Dame athletes win with giving attitude

Today starts the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center. Teams will compete and fans will fill the arena in the coming days to root on their favorite schools. It's about good competition and good sportsmanship.

Sportsmanship is an important thing in sports. It teaches athletes life lessons that go beyond the field or court.

These lessons are being learned by more than 50 athletes at Notre Dame Regional High School.

A recent story by reporter Ruth Campbell looked at the student group Athletes Give Back at the high school. Kirk Boeller, who coaches baseball and girls basketball at Notre Dame, brought the idea to students and they ran with it.

With 53 members in the group, 258 fleece blankets were made by the students and were scheduled to be delivered to St. Louis Children's Hospital last week.

Other projects may come up for the group, but Boeller's goal was to get the students in the practice of volunteering their time.

It's touching to see young people participate in these types of projects. There are many opportunities in our communities to volunteer, and this selflessness goes a long way in developing character. If you regularly read the Southeast Missourian, you know about many of these efforts.

Congratulations to the Athletes Give Back group at Notre Dame. To the many other area students who participate in other service projects, thank you. These efforts are appreciated.