Many young athletes dream of playing in the pros. This weekend several young athletes in Bettendorf got a change to play alongside with a pro, all thanks to a fellow student's inspirational essay.

WNBA player, Tangela Smith paid a visit to Pleasant Valley High School Sunday to run drills with the girls basketball team and talk about her personal experiences in the sport.

Smith is a center for the Phoenix Mercury and was here because Sarah Cronk, a junior, won an essay contest sponsored by Seventeen Magazine.

Cronk is a cheerleader and says her own teammates inspired her and she is happy to have such an inspiring role model come to her school.

"I really wanted to get the message out to other teams that it's a really great thing to do to volunteer and when I found out the prize involved helping out another team at the school I was really excited about it," said Cronk.

"Growing up I've always wanted to play basketball so I know these girls look up to us as role models and I just want to be here to encourage them," said Tangela Smith.

After winning the essay contest Cronk also went to New York for this year's WNBA draft and a tour of Seventeen Magazine.