It's Sunday afternoon, and Jaden Villnow, 17, could be studying from the thick calculus book lying on his family's dining-room table. The Skyline High School junior was out at a dance last night, so he could be napping. Having just capped the basketball season with the school's first state tournament, the Spartans guard — who also played cornerback and wide receiver for the football team — could be hanging out with friends.

Instead, he's chatting with 9-year-old Nicolas Horst about Nick's first Little League practice in the Challenger division for special-needs children. "Remember last summer, how well you were hitting?" Jaden asks.

For two or three hours every Sunday, Nick and Jaden play video games, make lunch or cookies and throw around a ball as part of the new Athletes for Kids mentor program, which pairs high-school athletes with elementary-school kids with special needs.

The high schoolers serve as role models, confidantes, inspirational figures, ambassadors and "special buddies."

"Nick is so proud," said his mom, Susan Horst. "He knows he has something special that other kids don't, even though there are lots of things he can't do that other kids can. He knows he has a special friend."

Athletes are 'big buddies'

When Nicolas gave a presentation to his class about how he had a stroke during heart surgery, initially was paralyzed from the neck down and now walks with a limp, Jaden came too, and explained that he was Nick's "big buddy." Jaden wore his football jersey and signed autographs for all the students.

Some quick facts about Athletes for Kids: Where: The nonprofit group has 15 athletes from Skyline High School in Sammamish participating, and would like to expand the program to the district's other high schools. Each year, the program plans to train new sophomores or juniors to replace graduating seniors. Mentors: Must fill out an application, go through a peer interview, undergo several hours of training and pass State Patrol criminal history and background checks. "We need mentors who we can absolutely rely on, because they hold the hearts of these little kids in their hands," Moscaret said. "Our mentors cannot let these little kids down." Children: The program is open to elementary school-age children with disabilities that negatively affect their self-esteem. The program now has a waiting list of children, with about half the requests coming from parents of autistic children. Boys outnumber girls 3 to 1, probably because more boys are diagnosed with disorders in elementary school, Moscaret said. More information: Visit the Web site www.athletesforkids.org email info@athletesforkids.org or call 425-369-2142.

The high schooler plans to help coach Nicolas during baseball practices and attend his games, just like Nicolas and his family watched many of Jaden's football and basketball games. They sat right behind Jaden's parents during one playoff game and cheered him on. Jaden came to Nick's birthday party, and sometimes attends the younger boy's school and church performances.

In its first year, the Athletes for Kids program runs only at Sammamish's Skyline High School, where the six original mentors are training nine new members. Organizers would like to see it expand to other Eastside high schools and then jump across the lake.

The idea behind the program is this: Considered local heroes both at school and in the community, athletes use their star power off the court to boost the self-esteem and social stature of young special-needs kids.

"Whenever I interview a parent who wants a mentor for their children, I ask the parent one general question to satisfy myself that their child really belongs in our program: 'Can you remember the last time your child was invited to another kid's birthday party?' " said Ken Moscaret, Athletes for Kids founder. "Most say they can't."

While any high schooler could mentor a younger child, "we deliberately wanted athletes because they represent the glory people look up to," Moscaret explained. The program focuses on elementary-school kids, since they're still young enough to be "dazzled" by high-school athletes.

For Julie Lee's 11-year-old son Cameron, who has obsessive-compulsive and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders, "the biggest change is someone values him for who he is."

His mentor, Zach Habben, a three-sport Skyline junior, sometimes takes Cameron to his house to practice hitting balls in his batting cage.

"Their connection is definitely sports," Lee said. Having an athlete friend allows kids to express and enjoy their love of sports vicariously if they can't compete themselves.

Zach "comes over and makes me feel better," Cameron said. "He's helped me through my problems." Sometimes those problems are personal and sometimes sports-related; Zach improved Cameron's swing by advising him not to lunge at the ball.

When they first met, Cameron was really quiet. "Now, it's 'Hey, Zach, let's do this, let's do that,' " Zach said. "He's come such a long way. He's more confident now in everything."

Mallory Graving, 16, a Spartans volleyball player, mentors a young girl with Down syndrome. While the two swim, play at the park, go for walks, watch movies and eat lots of ice cream, the most rewarding time is spent just talking.

"Sometimes kids don't have someone to talk to besides their parents," Graving said. "When I call her mom to set up a time to get together, she always wants to talk to me and tell me all about her day."

 A mentor for Craig

Athletes for Kids grew out of Moscaret's experience with his son Craig, 10. Two years ago, Craig's Tourette's syndrome, which causes him to involuntarily jerk his body and utter inappropriate words, was damaging his peer relationships, his school performance and his self-esteem.

"We could see him sinking into depression," Moscaret said. "We felt like we needed to find some dramatic way to reverse what was happening and make him feel good about himself again."

Since Craig loved sports, Moscaret contacted Skyline in hopes of finding an athlete to mentor Craig. He didn't really expect to hear back but then got a call with a name: Simi Reynolds.

"Everybody knew Simi," Moscaret said. Reynolds, a star Spartans football and baseball player who now plays both sports as a freshman at the University of Washington, met Moscaret at Starbucks for an interview.

Simi convinced Moscaret of his desire to be a mentor by explaining that his youngest brother, now 17, became severely disabled after being in a coma at age 2.

"Someone with disabilities is the same as someone without," Reynolds said during a break from studying at the UW. He noted how kids would stare at his brother when his family went to the mall. "It inspired me to show kids that these children with disabilities have something greater they can give us."

When they first met, Craig greeted Reynolds with a bear hug.

"I tried to make him happy and help him through a rough time when kids were making fun of him for being the different one," said Reynolds, who also befriended Craig's older brother, Doug. "I love them to death. When I'm in town, they're the first people I go see."

When he was still an active mentor, Reynolds would give Craig a hug over the fence at football games and introduce him to his teammates; his girlfriend and other friends would sit with Craig in the bleachers.

"Craig would tell kids, 'Simi is my friend,' and the kids would say, 'No way. I read about him in the paper,' " Moscaret said. "Then Simi would show up with Craig, and the kids would be flabbergasted.

"By seeing Craig with Simi, the kids at his school were more tolerant of Craig," Moscaret said. "It made them rethink their own attitudes: 'If he has a friend like Simi, maybe he's OK.' "

It's not as though Craig's symptoms disappeared or he suddenly had a dozen best friends, but it broke some of the stigma faced not only by Craig but the whole family, Moscaret said.

"Having a high-profile person in the community become a family friend counterbalances some of the loneliness parents and kids feel," he said. "It gives them a sense of hope they didn't have before."

Both kids, mentors benefit

Impressed with the results between Craig and Simi, Moscaret enlisted Simi's help in founding Athletes for Kids. Simi handpicked the first six mentors.

"I tell parents, 'I'm going to send an angel into your lives,' " Moscaret said. "They think I'm exaggerating, but Simi was an angel for Craig. He was a stronger, more powerful figure coming into the life of someone smaller and weaker to protect and change him."

At Jaden's house, Nicolas doesn't think Jaden is an angel — just a cool guy who has a PlayStation2. "I got my room all cleaned up so we can play Superman," Jaden assures Nick.

When they head upstairs, Jaden quietly stands right beside Nicolas as he struggles up the staircase, not offering help, but staying nearby in case Nick loses his balance.

"I've watched Nick become a different person than he was a year ago," Jaden said. "I've seen the determination in everything he does escalate. He doesn't need me to help; he wants to do it by himself."

While the benefits for the special-needs children are more obvious, mentors say they also gain from the experience. Jaden credits Nick for helping him become more patient and caring.

The kids' disabilities also put teen's own problems into perspective. Cameron "never has a frown on his face," Zach said. "He's so happy to see me."

Parents of the teens appreciate that the program keeps their athletes grounded despite their sports fame and affluent lifestyles. "It's been a blessing all around," said Jaden's mom, Serena.

"Teen athletes are perceived as selfish and self-centered, thinking they're entitled to special treatment," Moscaret said. "These mentors do just the opposite. They choose to spend their very limited free time with little kids who often don't have any friends."

All the mentors say they wondered before they started where they'd find the time. But once they got into it, allotting time hasn't been an issue. "It's where I really, really want to go," Zach said. "I really love how I got to know Cameron and know his family. It's just a lot of fun."