WARSAW – A new type of ailment starting to slowly become part of the medical lexicon, ‘Text Neck’, is defined by the Cleveland Clinic as, “A repetitive strain injury that’s becoming more common as more people hunch over smartphones.” While ‘Text Neck’ has become part of a downward shifting societal problem, children and adults from the Warsaw area Tuesday were experiencing a new type of neck movement. Up.

Men’s and women’s basketball players from across the country took part in community service projects in and around Warsaw, Winona Lake, Claypool and Leesburg. The service is in conjunction with the NCCAA National Basketball Championships being held this week at Grace College. Sixteen teams from the tournament hit the area schools, Grace Village, Salvation Army, Heartline Pregnancy Center and Combined Community Services to give back.

“It means a lot for us, and for a lot of the kids,” said Grace College senior Brandon Vanderhegghen, who did his fourth tour Tuesday at Madison Elementary School. “A lot of these kids come to the Lancer camps in the summer and see us. For us to come back and spend a day with them in their environment, it’s really fun.

“Last year, I read a book to the kids. To look out and see them all fixated on me and watching me read means a lot. It shows me how much of an influence I can be on them and makes me want to better myself.”

Grace has hosted the national tournament consecutively since 2012, but also hosted the tournament in the 2000s. While the community has enjoyed the extra amount of attention, the basketball programs enjoy it just as much.

“It’s a lot of fun to be out here,” began Grace College assistant basketball coach Greg Miller, who played for Grace from 2010-14. “I remember doing this as a player. It’s funny, you come in here kind of shy, but you leave here feeling really good about yourself. It’s a different outreach that we usually do. Most of it is based on basketball, but in here it’s interaction with the kids. It’s not normal for our guys. It gets them out of their comfort zone.”

Service projects began at 9 a.m. Tuesday and carried on through the afternoon, coupling with practice times for the teams ahead of tomorrow’s tournament lid lifter at 8:30 a.m., running through Saturday’s championship games. All of the games will be played at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center on Grace’s campus.

Tuesday night’s tournament banquet at Warsaw Community Church will have featured speaker Luke Zeller. A state champion with Washington High School in 2005, Zeller went onto college basketball at Notre Dame and later a professional career in the NBA.

Grace College track and cross country coach Jeff Raymond took over the organizational duties for the service projects this year with former leader Andria Harshman now coaching volleyball at Colorado Christian. Raymond said Tuesday morning he was happy with how the planning stages went, and hoped to hear good things throughout the week.

“What I have heard from the organizations that take part in this is all positive,” Raymond said. “I think it speaks volumes that everybody keeps coming back year after year to be a part of this. The fact that they return is a sign they are pleased.”