St. Olaf School among top 10 in read-a-thon

Intermountain Catholic

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The top 10 readers from Saint Olaf School were selected to sit up front to read with Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko. Then students asked him various questions.

BOUNTIFUL — Utah Jazz Forward Andrei Kirilenko visited Saint Olaf School to congratulate the students on their success in the Utah Jazz Scholastic Book Fairs "Be a Team Player Read-a-thon. St. Olaf School was among the top 10 finishers, and as a result, Kirilenko came to read to them.

Kirilenko, an avid reader himself, encouraged the students to keep reading and working toward their goals. He said if they did they could be successful and achieve their dreams. He told them he likes to read before games because it helps him focus. He reads at almost any opportunity.

For the minutes to count in the read-a-thon, reading had to be done out of school and could include time a parent, guardian, or older sibling read aloud to a student; reading cereal boxes and books on tape did not count. In contests between the classrooms, the kindergarten students were often the readers with the most minutes per week and rewarded with hand-made gold Olympic medals. Classes were also rewarded with a pizza or popcorn party.

"Knowing a Jazz player would come to our school if they accumulated enough minutes helped keep them motivated," said Stacey Byrd, a parent who helped organize the read-a-thon for St. Olaf School. "The older students were familiar with having Jazz players come, as St. Olaf has been in the top 10 several times over the past years."

The top 10 St. Olaf readers and Kirilenko read "Bright Stanley and the Cave Monster," by Matt Buckingham and "I Can Be Anything" by Jerry Spinelli and Jimmy Liao. Kirilenko also autographed the books for the school.

During his visit, the students asked him several questions. He said he was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. "It is a beautiful cultural city on the river. It is called the city of museums," he said. "It was hard to leave Russia and my family, but don’t worry because I have three months off during the summer to spend with my family and friends, which I keep in touch with through emails and my cell phone. I spend half of my time off in the summer in Russia and the other half in Utah."

The biggest shot he has made is a three-point shot in an official game, but the strangest shot he made was from behind the backboard. He can make those shots because the Jazz practice every day and have about five games a week, he said. "The best way to become a good basketball player is practice, practice, practice," said Kirilenko.

Kirilenko said if he wasn’t playing basketball, he would probably be a soccer player. His father is a soccer coach and his mother played basketball. They were his role models when he was younger. "My wife has been my role model for the last 10 years. Before my wife I wanted to be good like my mom, but strong like my dad."

One of Kirilenko’s greatest achievements was carrying the Russian flag into the stadium to open the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. "I was shaking because there were hundreds of people. I was afraid I was going to drop the flag. I was so nervous," he said. "It was one of the most spectacular opening ceremonies I have ever seen in my life."

Kirilenko emphasized that students should read and get an education; a professional sports career doesn’t last a lifetime. He is 29, and plans to retire at about age 35. He will have to do something else, but said it is a secret.