SOUTH HADLEY — Wide eyes, wide smiles and the sound of large groups of children running around filled the Kendall Sports and Dance Complex on the campus of Mount Holyoke College Saturday afternoon.

The Mount Holyoke athletics department hosted its second annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day clinic, and after about 30 families signed up for it a year ago, that number nearly tripled this time around. From more commonly known sports like basketball, volleyball and field hockey, to sports that don’t garner as much attention like rowing and equestrian, the youths in attendance got a small taste of everything – led by several Lyon student-athletes.

“It’s just really important for the exposure, for them just to see college athletes and be able to look up to them and be like, ‘I can be them one day,’” Mount Holyoke head soccer coach Breena Proctor, who ushered Saturday’s clinic, said. “Also I think it’s good to expose the kids to a bunch of different sports and get them really excited and have fun.”

When the children arrived in the morning, they were initially hesitant to open up. A big group of strangers is a bit overwhelming. But once Lyons head basketball coach Abby Wemhoff guided everyone through the “Cupid Shuffle,” they all relaxed.

From there, it was game on.

Proctor broke the children into several groups, and they went to try their hand at whatever sport was in front of them.

“Just watching them all in the clinics, having fun and smiling and laughing, it’s probably the best part of this,” Proctor said. “Seeing them come in a little timid, and then just let loose and start playing is just amazing.”

Perhaps the only smiles larger than those worn by the children and their parents were on the faces of Mount Holyoke student-athletes. To them, the event felt as if they were looking in a time machine. Not that long ago they possessed not a care in the world, just learning how to play sports they soon fell in love with.

That’s exactly what they saw when teaching each child the craft of their sport. As the saying goes, everything in life comes full circle, and it certainly seemed that way on Saturday.

“For our student-athletes, it’s important for them to see themselves through this,” Mount Holyoke’s Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Marcella Runell said. “For them to be able to share the sport that they love, and the things that make them so happy and bring them joy, with younger kids, it’s a win-win.”

Because Mount Holyoke’s student-athletes are often focused on competing to the best of their abilities in their respective sports, they very rarely have the opportunity to sit back, relax and just enjoy playing or teaching their sport in a carefree way.

Saturday presented them with that chance, and they took full advantage of it.

“The day is just about having fun, and I think we lose sight in that through competition,” Proctor said. “It’s nice to be back to the roots of just coming in to play games.”

When asked about what the National Girls and Women in Sports Day clinic at Mount Holyoke means to Runell, one word immediately popped into her head.

“This day to me is joy,” Runell said. “It brings just pure joy.”

Having her family there alongside, with hundreds of members of the Mount Holyoke community in attendance, and the selfless Lyons’ student-athletes there as well, it was the perfect storm of the important aspects of her life.

“Today is all that Mount Holyoke stands for and all that Mary Lyon believed in, in terms of the importance of physical fitness and health and well-being,” Runell said. “I get to have my daughters here, and we get to do this with our students and our community, so it’s a perfect blend of all the things that are so important.”

After each of the activities concluded in the field house, and following the all-important lunchtime to keep the children energized, many of them went right upstairs to enjoy the Mount Holyoke basketball game at 1 p.m. – where the Lyons took on Emerson for their senior day.

Yet another successful NGWSD event is in the books at Mount Holyoke, and it’s a new tradition that seems likely to be in the plans for years to come.

“Seeing it all come together, we had a vision and our team did such a great job of making it happen,” Runell said.