By Lily Belcher
Last year, sixth grader Kevin Robbins and his little brother Ethan and sister Taylor discovered Beyblades, a spinning top game developed in Japan in 1999 where participants try to keep their tops spinning longer inside a miniature stadium than their competitors.
Their mom, Marnie Robbins, watched her sons develop a love for Beyblades and the resulting bond between the boys motivated her to create the Beyblades Club.
“I created the club because my boys had started to bond…I loved watching how Kevin would teach Ethan, and Ethan was beginning to spend a lot more time with him,” said Marnie.
Marnie mentioned starting a Beyblades club to her boys, but, despite liking the idea, Kevin did not think anyone would join the club.
“I wanted to show him that anything can happen if you believe that it can. I wanted him to see that he’s capable of doing anything he puts his heart to, so I made it even more important to get this club started. I wanted his confidence boosted,” said Marnie.
She posted an invite on Facebook to the free club, in which members would meet on Tuesdays and Fridays at Park Square in FishHawk. Marnie and her boys took their Beyblades and stadiums to the park to meet with a few other families after school.
“The wonderful thing is that every week they meet and the kids have something to look forward to after a long day [of] e-learning or brick-and-mortar schooling,” said Marnie’s friend, Melissa Rogers.
Marnie supplies the Beyblades and stadiums for the kids to borrow and offers hand sanitizer and wipes for the families participating. The club currently has 24 families that join weekly, including Taylor and some of her friends. The Robbins family is willing to meet in smaller groups to accommodate families who cannot meet on Fridays.
“For me and my kids, it’s been a very good experience,” said Robbins, “It shows that during rough times we can still have fun, and we love watching this group grow.”
For more information about joining the Beyblades Club, text message Marnie Robbins at 516-425-1257.
