Athletes run with idea of giving back

Teenagers are like sponges. You never know what might soak in.

That’s why it’s so important for coaches to introduce their athletes to a variety of experiences -- to provoke curiosity and challenge assumptions.

Ten years ago, Joey Cuppari was a standout receiver at Westlake Village Westlake who wanted to study medicine.

During the summer, he participated in a community service project organized by his coach, Jim Benkert, to have football players give back. Cuppari volunteered to work with the Special Olympics, and what an impression it made.

“You get to see how much you can help people,” Cuppari said.

Cuppari is now two years away from finishing medical school. He said what he learned from the Special Olympics validated his interest in becoming a doctor.

Eight years ago, Jon Brewster was a standout shortstop at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. He earned a scholarship to USC and while playing for a summer team, a coach introduced him to Hugs for Cubs, an organization that helps kids with cancer.

Now Brewster is organizing a baseball camp next month for 40 kids, asking parents to donate anything they can afford, with the participants learning baseball and the donations going toward Hugs for Cubs.

What motivates Brewster?

It’s seeing the kids’ perseverance.

“The stuff you learn from these kids battling diseases is amazing,” he said.

Across Southern California, high school coaches are starting to embrace the concept of community service for their athletes, and it has the chance to make a huge difference, whether it’s reading to elementary-school kids or visiting a home for senior citizens.

Last year, Santa Ana Mater Dei’s football program dedicated its season to a Marine division at Camp Pendleton, dubbing the project “Monarchs for Marines.” It supported Marine families, but the interaction was just as important to the Mater Dei players.

This year, Mission Viejo’s football program raised funds for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, organizing a 5K run that had more than 430 participants. The team received the “Community of Character” award from the mayor of Mission Viejo.

“It’s been a humbling experience and great deal for us,” Coach Bob Johnson said.

Brentwood Athletic Director Jeaney Garcia decided this year to ask each of her school’s 26 sports teams to embrace a community service project called “Teams in Service.”

“I wanted to mandate it, but I haven’t had to use that word,” she said. “They’ve taken ahold of it, and it’s been great.”

The football team and parents put together a canned food drive, and one parent, Emily Kelln, has stored the food in her garage until it’s delivered to a needy organization.

The boys’ water polo team has been selling tubes of neon-colored Zinka sunscreen to raise funds for the Society for Melanoma Research. Fans painted their faces at games, and players showed up shirtless at football games wearing red and blue sunscreen, which happen to be Brentwood’s school colors.

“We thought it would be a cool way to connect and bring in school spirit,” water polo player Andrew Cutrow said.

The cross-country teams participated in the Pancreatic Cancer Walk. The girls’ volleyball team is adopting families and providing a gift bag for the holidays. The girls’ tennis team is packaging food for the homeless. The soccer teams are adopting teams and will collect and donate equipment and offer a clinic.

These projects are exposing athletes to people they have never met and situations they have never encountered. They are challenging comfort levels and forcing them to look at life experiences in a different way.

Yes, coaches are hired to teach expertise in a particular sport, and winning matters. But their influence and reach goes far beyond the athletic field, and it’s appropriate that they provide leadership beyond the athletic field.

Athletes are eager to respond. They just need someone to ask.

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eric.sondheimer@latimes.com