Mudbugs Make Most of Trip to Rapid City

RAPID CITY, SD – The Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, who have been in South Dakota this week preparing for a pair of games against the Rapid City Rush, spent Thursday morning visiting kids at the Black Hills Children’s Home. The Mudbugs play the Rush tonight at 8:05 Central time.
 
Mudbugs players and coaches were at the Children’s Home for a few hours to talk and interact with the kids and play games on Thursday morning. All 52 children at the Black Hills Children’s Home are receiving therapy for emotional and behavioral problems stemming primarily from abuse or neglect.
 
“I’m a big believer in doing good, and I really think that’s what days like (Thursday) are all about,” said Head Coach Scott Muscutt. “I was really proud of how our players jumped right in and got involved with the kids. We wanted this to be a day that they would remember, and honestly, I think we all got as much out of the visit as they did.”
 
Coach Muscutt and the players led a number of group activities and games with the children, including a game of “Simon Says” with none other than Mudbugs defenseman Simon Mangos.
 
“It was so great to get involved with the kids,” Mangos said. “We had the chance to meet some great, interesting kids, play games with them and make them smile. I think we all really enjoyed giving back to the community, even though it wasn’t in our own backyard.”
 
The players also spent plenty of time talking to the children individually, getting to know them and even exchanging Christmas wishes with one another.
 
Darla Crown, Development Officer for Children’s Home Society, arranged the morning visit. “It was amazing how quickly the kids took to the players,” she said. “Coach Muscutt is an inspirational leader. He really helped the kids tap into the concepts of teamwork and the importance of striving for your dreams.”
 
The Black Hills Children’s Home is a residential treatment center where kids between the ages of four and 13 go to heal emotional and behavioral problems. Using tools like individual, group and family therapy, special education and psychiatric services, the goal of the Home is to place children back into a family environment.
 
The average length of stay for a child at the home is about one year, after which time approximately 40 percent of the children will return to their birth families and 50 percent will go to foster care or an adoptive family.
 
“What a great community service the Mudbugs performed while visiting our local area. The opportunity for the kids to interact with these professional young men, these type of role models, is extremely valuable for the children,” said Crown. “The entire experience is a testament to the caliber of the players and the sport of hockey at large.”
 
The Black Hills Children’s Home outside Rapid City is a part of the Children’s Home Society, which is the largest non-profit organization in South Dakota.