(Note—this story originally ran in the Winter 2018 issue of Wildcat Illustrated.)

Taylor Lydon and Terence Pellum spent so much time playing basketball that the game they loved impacted the rest of their lives. Now, the two Chico State graduates want to make sure that it can do the same for others.
 
Both wrapped up their playing days with the Wildcats in 2011 with Lydon on the women's basketball team and Pellum on the men's squad. In 2012, they graduated from Chico State.
 
Since then, the two—in their respective work arenas—have sought to deliver the game to future generations.
 
Lydon works for Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), a national, nonprofit organization that focuses on the character-building aspect of youth sports, valuing qualities like teamwork and determination over the final score. As a business development associate, Lydon manages the day-to-day partnerships with national and corporate partners such as Jr. NBA.
 
Pellum has taken his interest in coaching and teaching to underserved communities while working in the KIPP Bay Area Public Schools in San Jose as an athletic director and physical education teacher for fifth- through eighth-graders. He also coaches boys and girls basketball and soccer.
 
KIPP's mission is "to operate high-achieving public schools for students of all backgrounds so they can develop and eventually thrive in college."

 
"My job is to make it fun and have them play the sport the right way and enjoy it," Pellum said. "I really enjoy what I do. I couldn't imagine doing something else."
 
Pellum implemented some of the PCA's messages into his coaching, helping his players and students grow, like the PCA's ELM tree for "Effort, Learning, and Mistakes are OK."
 
"I use that in my P.E. classes and when I coach," Pellum said. "I want everyone to try hard. You need to do your best, but everyone's best is different. I'm almost 30, and I'm learning new things about basketball, and I've played it all my life."
 
Then there is ROOTS, for honoring the game or respect for "Rules, Officials, Opponents, Teammates, and Self."
 
"You do better when you're feeling good and confident about yourself," Pellum said. "It's a great message."
 
Lydon has helped spread the message of better athletes and better people through the PCA, which works directly with coaches and youth sports leagues after starting 20 years ago in Stanford with an aim to change the climate in youth sports so that life lessons are taught and emphasized. The nonprofit has 18 chapters across the nation.
 
"A lot of it is focused on relationship-building, and that is a lot of what we preach," Lydon said.
 
The same can be said about Pellum's aim for coaching.
 
"The biggest thing is building those relationships to those kids so that they can trust you, that you're there for their best interests and make them a better person. That's what drives me. I just love building relationships," he said. "Everybody is different. That's the biggest reason why I got into coaching. Those relationships you build with coaching."
 
Growing up in Seaside and attending Monterey High, Pellum said he always had a passion for sports, and the people he looked up to as role models and mentors tended to be his coaches and P.E. teachers. After starring on the basketball courts in Seaside and at Foothill Community College in Los Altos Hills, Pellum found his way to Chico State by being recruited to play center for the Wildcats and Head Coach Greg Clink.
 
He was a kinesiology major who minored in coaching and administration.
 
Those days further shaped Pellum's path, leading to important relationships on and off the court.

 
"One-hundred percent," he said. "Coach Clink does a great job of holding you accountable, making sure you work hard, take care of business, but he also makes it the family aspect, how you can connect with people."
 
That continues to motivate Pellum as he works with children from varying backgrounds.
 
"We work in low-income schools. Sometimes life is really hard on them," Pellum said.
 
It's not always easy on the teachers and coaches, either. Pellum, though, finds the work rewarding.
 
"At the end of the year, when the kids come up and say, 'Thanks for not giving up on me and continuing to push me to be a better person every day,' it's very meaningful," he said. "They come back and thank you."
 
Reaching children through sports and nurturing them positively is what Lydon saw early on from PCA when she joined a little more than three years ago.
 
"I was drawn to our mission because of my sports experience," Lydon said. "Mine was pretty positive, but I had plenty of run-ins with parents who were overzealous and coaches who were aggressive, and I felt like I could really resonate with the mission in terms of what I've learned through sports."
 
Those are life lessons that Lydon knew well.
 
"I wouldn't be who I am today without my youth sports experience and my college experience as well," she said. "It's really given me a different perspective on my experience and how blessed I was."
 
Lydon credits basketball and her time with the Wildcats for helping her see beyond the city limits.
 
"I went to Chico Junior [High], and then I crossed the street and I went to Chico High, and then I crossed another street and went to Chico State," she said. "I don't think I would have ever left Chico if I hadn't played basketball there because I met so many great people in the athletic department who weren't from Chico. They showed me this world that I didn't really know that was at my fingertips. It became a reality to me."
 
Ultimately, she would like to see youth sports viewed like taking piano lessons, an extracurricular activity that enriches above everything else.
 
"I think the tide is turning," Lydon said. "Not every kid is going to be the next LeBron James, and sports are still a valuable thing. How serious are we going to take 8-year-olds' soccer? It's great for you to learn and be a better person."
 
"It's how valuable sports can be for kids," she said, "and how important it is to communicate with them that you love them and you support them no matter the outcome of the game."

CHICO STATE GIVING DAY
Please consider giving Chico State athletics during our second annual Giving Day on February 14. Our goal is to reach 500 donors. Every gift, large or small, helps us get there! Thank you for your support.  CLICK HERE TO GIVE or text the following to give to...

The entire department: chicoathletics to 71777
Baseball: chicoathletics1 to 71777
Men's Basketball: chicoathletics2 to 71777
Women's Basketball: chicoathletics3 to 71777
Men's Cross Country: chicoathletics4 to 71777
Women's Cross Country: chicoathletics5 to 71777
Men's Golf: chicoathletics6 to 71777
Women's Golf: chicoathletics7 to 71777
Men's Soccer: chicoathletics8 to 71777
Women's Soccer: chicoathletics9 to 71777
Softball: chicoathletics10 to 71777
Men's Track & Field: chicoathletics11 to 71777
Women's Track & Field: chicoathletics12 to 71777
Volleyball: chicoathletics13 to 71777