The Celtics may have to overcome some adversity to contend for an NBA championship this season, but now they have a few more people listening to their every move.
Brian Scalabrine, Marquis Daniels and Celtics CEO Wyc Grousbeck stopped by the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Mass., on Monday as part of the team’s Read to Achieve program. Together with student readers — using braille books and readers — the trio read Genevieve Patrillo’s Keep Your Ear on the Ball, a story about a student named Davey who learns to play kickball with his classmates despite being blind.
"This was a wonderful opportunity to share the joy of reading with students at the Perkins School," Scalabrine said. "It is a lot of fun not just reading to the children, but having them read to us as well. It is inspirational that these students are able to overcome their disability and have a love of reading."
Though many of the students at the Perkins School have never seen a basketball game, the students do learn to play modified versions of many sports, much like the main character of the book. Led by Scalabrine and his co-reader, a student also named Brian, the audience took part in a Celtics championship chant.
While the Celtics were moved by the students and their joy of reading, Daniels gave out some inspiration of his own.
"Never settle — whatever you want to be in life, go full speed toward it,” he told the students.
Read to Achieve is a league-wide NBA program to encourage fun and creative reading and learning experiences for kids. There are more than 100 Reading and Learning Centers and 150 Reading Corners throughout the 30 NBA markets, including two opened by the Celtics in Massachusetts.
