Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Friday, January 06, 2012

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Each winter when the Harlem Globetrotters visit Rupp Arena, they send an ambassador ahead to promote the exhibition game. An elementary school is one of the usual stops.

At all of 5-foot-8, Blenda Rodriguez has risen to meet the challenge, touring as a professional basketball player with the Harlem Globetrotters. So he could confidently assure the kids at Lansdowne Elementary they can achieve anything in life if they believe in their dreams and work hard.

Rodriguez, who travels ahead as a goodwill ambassador for the team, recalled naysayers who thought he would never make it in basketball because of his size. “I took all that negativity and turned it into a positive,” he said.

The Manhattan, N.Y., native stopped by the school Friday to demonstrate his nifty ball-handling skills and share the Globetrotters’ interactive “C.H.E.E.R. for Character” program, which focuses on these five character traits:

• Cooperation
• Healthy mind and body
• Effort
• Enthusiasm
• Responsibility

First, he led a clapping drill in which the gym-full of children tried to follow his verbal commands; several inevitably missed the mark in each round.

“When you come to school, you must pay attention because it takes just that one second for you to miss out on something important your teacher is saying,” he reminded the students.

Then for every letter in CHEER, Rodriguez picked someone in the audience to describe what the trait meant to them. For instance, cooperation is all about working together as a team, as the Globetrotters do on the court.

An advocate of martial arts and Chinese boxing, he also encouraged the youngsters to avoid junk food and spend more time outdoors. “You must make sure you stay active and eat the right foods to have the energy to perform well and come to school ready to learn,” he said.

CHEER also promotes effort and enthusiasm as crucial to personal success, as Rodriguez put it, “trying your best and giving 110 percent in whatever you do.”

A Lansdowne teacher perched in one corner of the gym wrapped it up by defining responsibility as “doing what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it.”

“CHEER does not stop here,” Rodriguez told the kids. “When you wake up tomorrow, remember these letters.”

Rodriguez, who picked up basketball late in life – at age 12, remembers how special guests made an impact when they visited his own school. That’s why he enjoys being an ambassador for the Globetrotters.

Jennifer Fish, the administrative dean at Lansdowne, appreciated how he illustrated the importance of self-discipline, goals and perseverance.

“He had their attention because of who he is, and he also had a good message,” she said.

Did you know?

Rodriguez got his nickname, Blenda, because “they said I make smoothies out of defenders.” He also can mix it up in a game and blends well with his teammates.

Coming up

The Harlem Globetrotters bring their 2012 World Tour to Rupp Arena on Jan. 13. | Details

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