WICHITA, Kansas, Nov 02, 2006 -- Every month we bring you stories of local kids looking for a Big Brother or Big Sister. Now we have another one for you to meet. His name is Marquis and he recently spent the day with our very own, Leon Smitherman.

You know, you never really start to feel your age until someone makes it perfectly clear that you are no longer a kid. That’s kind of how I felt after playing a quick game of basketball with 10-year-old Marquis. Marquis loves sports -- basketball and football too.

"I play running back and tailback," said Marquis.

And while more traditional sports are okay, Marquis’ real love is skate boarding.

"I can Ollie, I can almost kick flip, I can hill flip and I can pop seven," said Marquis.

Apparently skate boarders speak an entirely different language.

So what’s an Ollie? "Where you take your board and you pop it down and it goes up in the air and you land it," said Marquis.

Marquis used to have a Big Brother. He was in the Air Force.

"He had to go because they were going in a war so he had to go," said Marquis.

Now he’s looking for a new Big Brother for one simple reason.

"Because they’re cool and they take you places that you probably don’t get to go with your family."

So if you would like to make a positive impact on a young person’s life and maybe you speak a little skateboard-eese or at least play better basketball than I do, why not give Big Brothers a shot because the future for kids like Marquis isn’t a game.

• Website: Big Brother's Big Sisters of Kansas
• Phone: 316-263-3300 or 1-888-KS4-BIGS