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Pupil Turns Professor as PG Schools Local Youth on Fishing

Tiny fingers unwove an errant hook from a nearby line, while a rod bowed as it, and its owner for the day strained to reel in a bite. About two feet left and at least three feet up, were the eyes of Thunder forward Paul George, watching the 4th grade students work out their newly-learned skill.

After practice on Monday, George raced up to a pond near Arcadia Lake where he met 50 students from Cesar Chavez Elementary as a part of a class trip to experience sports in the great outdoors. Last season, George helped sponsor the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s FITS (Fishing in the Schools) program and is continuing to give back to Oklahoma youth by sharing his favorite pastime.

“The reason I came back here was because of the community,” George said. “I embrace that. I cherish that. For me to get a chance to give back in something that’s personal to me, it makes it that much more enjoyable to do.”

The first time he went fishing, years ago in California, a 10-year old from Cesar Chavez named Trey had his grandmother help put the worm on his hook. Today with George at his side to guide him, Trey ended up reeling in a fish, and even holding it.

“I said I was scared to hold it, but then I held it,” Trey quipped, with a matter-of-factness only kids can deliver.

“He’s like a brother,” Trey added when asked about George, “like in a different way.”

Watch now: An Afternoon at the Lake with PG

George played the role of professor out on the pond on Monday, even with his original teacher onboard the boat. George’s father, Paul Sr. was the one who introduced fishing to the future All-Star when he was just a kid. It’s still a special memory-maker that fuels the father-son relationship, even if the younger of the two thinks he’s in the captain’s seat.

“I coach him now,” George grinned. “The roles have reversed a little bit.”

“I was grateful and fortunate my dad took me under his wing and got me out here at their age because I love it,” George added. “It’s a happy place for me and it’s a chance to get away, escape and be at ease and relax.”

Unlike the lucky angler Trey, this was the first-time fishing for many of the Cesar Chavez students, yet by the time the afternoon came to a close they were clamoring for more.

“It just goes to show you that you don’t know what you like until you do it,” George noted.

That’s the true goal for George in his unique, personal strategy to giving back in Oklahoma – to open up the world to some kids who might not otherwise be able to have access to it. George hopes, through events like today and the FITS program, that kids around Oklahoma will be more inclined to get out into nature, explore their natural skills and create a healthy lifestyle for themselves.  

“I look forward down the line, these kids 5-to-10 years having this memory of their first-time fishing and it being with me,” George continued. “The kids enjoyed it, they had a blast. They wanted to stay out here longer. That, at the end of the day, is all we can ask for.”