Two Spokane Indians Visit Audubon School

For most students, the first day of school brings new books, new teachers and a new desk. But for fifth grader Brianna Neubirth, it also brought a baseball autographed by Spokane Indians team members Ryan Baerlocher and Liam Healy.

“It’s cool because I like baseball and going to games,” said Brianna, 10.

Baerlocher and Healy visited Audubon Elementary School last week to speak to students about teamwork, goal setting, sportsmanship and having a positive attitude.

“When I was a little kid, if athletes had come to my school, it would have made my day,” said Baerlocher, one of the Indians’ starting pitchers.

“It’s a great motivation for our kids,” added Audubon Principal Greg Baerlocher, who is Ryan Baerlocher’s second cousin.

Healy, who plays right field, talked about the importance of setting goals and challenged students to write down five goals for themselves for the following day.

“If you write it down, you have to do it,” he said. “Setting goals helps you get better, because you can see the progress you make every day.”

Eric Johnson, 11, took Healy’s advice to heart.

“It’s important to write down your goals so you can accomplish them and get better,” he said, and shared one goal he planned to set for himself: “To read better.”

Ryan Baerlocher explained the importance of respect, responsibility and being a good sport.

“Act the same whether you win or lose,” he advised.

Throughout their presentation, Baerlocher and Healy quizzed the kids on things they’d talked about. When they started handing out autographed balls as rewards for right answers, hundreds of hands shot up together, as if choreographed.

Clyde Coleman, 11, didn’t get a baseball but did get some valuable advice from Audubon’s first assembly of the year.

“It’s all about teamwork - you can’t do everything by yourself,” he said. “It’s not a one-person game.”