NEW BASKETBALL LEAGUE FIRES UP SUMMERTIME
--------------------------------------------------
Alameda Journal
August 2, 2005
By KARA ANDRADE
STAFF WRITER
FROM ITS PARKING lot, Chipman Middle School is like any other school during the long drowsy days of summer, abandoned and forgotten in the minds of most students. But the sudden shouts and squeaking of shoes by the gym wakens the evening as teenagers pour out from the side doors in clusters of horseplay and laughter.
"Get it from them, Manny!" shouts James Howard, coach of the Alameda Point Stallions who are competing with the Slammers as part of the Boys & Girls Club newly formed basketball league, which began July 19. "Don't waste the clock!"
Howard paces as if caged behind the sidelines.
The score is 8 to 2, there are two minutes left on the clock, and the Stallions are ablaze in a desperate attempt to bring a respectable ending to the 10-minute game. The clock is relentless, and Dan Nguyen, program director for the Boys & Girls Club of Alameda, holds a whistle between his lips as he perpetually flags his arm at the players.
Then it begins, one basket, swoosh, a swarm of arms and legs tilt to one side of the court, the gaggle of teenagers' heads by the bleachers moves in unison to one side and then the next. Then, swoosh, again, swoosh, again and again. The buzzer goes off as the ball trickles out from the basket, and then there's a sudden flying of arms and yells echoing through the gym.
"Yeah, that's right! The game is over! No time out, the game is over!" Howard yells out proudly as one of his players comes flying at him.
"We won!" says Encinal High School student Jerrard Green, 15. "It feels good to win. We don't always win, but I like coming here (to the Boys & Girls Club) to play and share with people."
He runs back out to the court as the next teams lines up.
"You have to meet them where they're at," said Reginald Harrison, 29, youth program specialist for the Alameda Point Collaborative, an agency that is working with the Boys & Girls Club to make the league possible. "Basketball is what they like, and you have to reach a balance between giving them what they like and connecting and exposing them to new things."
The free basketball league was formed in response to requests made from Boys & Girls Club teens at the West Alameda Teen Center and Chipman Middle School, who wanted more organized sports. It is the brainchild of program aid Reginald James, 23, and Nguyen, 29. James and Nguyen come from similar low-income backgrounds in Oakland as do many of the mostly African-American teens they are serving. They were both involved in after-school programs, such as the YMCA and park department basketball leagues that were popular with their peers when they were growing up.
"The league would give them a place to go that's safe and can relieve their tension," Nguyen says. "These kids are good athletes coming from a lot of adversity, something I also had to deal with coming from a poor background. Being here gives them something they really need in their lives."
With this in mind, Nguyen and James held a draft on July 15 at the Boys and Girls Club's satellite site formed in collaboration with Chipman Middle School. Six teams were formed, named by the team members: Taylor Street Triple Threat, Alameda Point Stallions, Slammers, We Serving Early, Cross Overs, and the (Buena Vista) Boss Ballers. Coaches were also picked by the team members and James and Nguyen serve as referees (They also play on teams when they're not refereeing).
On July 21, the Boys and Girls Club had its first 10-minute streetball pick-up game -- rapid games normally seen on playgrounds -- complete with referees and an audience of 60-70 teens who keep coming back every Tuesday and Thursday.
Some of the girls participate, although many of them opt for socializing by the bleachers or going bowling with program assistant Shana Hullana.
The league has since grown in popularity and has become a hub of socializing as the bleachers buzz with gossip, while everyone, at all times, keeps up with the rhythm of the game.
"Basketball catches the eye of the inner city kids," Howard says. "They see people who look like them, who are coming from similar backgrounds and succeeding, and they connect with it. This game teaches them discipline and how to work as a team to compete. I have yet to see a physical confrontation."
Although there have been no confrontations, there has been an "incident" which Boys & Girls Club Director George Phillips is quick to address at the beginning of Thursday evening's games. Phillips calls a quick pause to the games and stands in the center of the court in order to address a now very serious and somber group of teens. As they listen quietly, Phillips talks about how last week Nguyen had $200 in cash and credit cards stolen from his car when a teen took his car keys from where he had set them by the scoreboard.
Nobody moves as Phillips matter-of-factly tells the story.
"It's wrong, we all know it's wrong, and that's not what we're here for," Phillips says sternly. "We all work hard to make this program available to all of you and I know it's important to you. When we find out who did it, (that person) will not be a part of this program. This behavior is unacceptable."
The silence holds and Phillips does not belabor the point. "Now let's play."
Although Nguyen is disappointed by this incident, his resolve is unshaken. "It comes with the territory," Nguyen says. "They are coming from rough lives. My work is very gratifying to me because it reminds me of when I was a kid and was in their shoes."
Nguyen envisions the league growing to include more hours, like other programs that go to 2 a.m. He would like see full-on referees, open gym and more midnight basketball sessions. The league, which is popular among teens, has also sparked a lot of attention among adults.
"The fire department called and expressed interest in an adult team. I'm thinking we can have the adults play with the kids, or East End vs. West End and then play at a larger gym like Encinal High School."
For now, Nguyen is seen darting across the court in sync with the flurry of bodies that rush from end to end in this last month before school begins. Nguyen said the games will culminate with playoffs in August and a tournament style game with single elimination.
"But that's just the beginning," Nguyen said as a broad smile crossed his face.
--------------------------------------------------
Alameda Journal
August 2, 2005
By KARA ANDRADE
STAFF WRITER
FROM ITS PARKING lot, Chipman Middle School is like any other school during the long drowsy days of summer, abandoned and forgotten in the minds of most students. But the sudden shouts and squeaking of shoes by the gym wakens the evening as teenagers pour out from the side doors in clusters of horseplay and laughter.
"Get it from them, Manny!" shouts James Howard, coach of the Alameda Point Stallions who are competing with the Slammers as part of the Boys & Girls Club newly formed basketball league, which began July 19. "Don't waste the clock!"
Howard paces as if caged behind the sidelines.
The score is 8 to 2, there are two minutes left on the clock, and the Stallions are ablaze in a desperate attempt to bring a respectable ending to the 10-minute game. The clock is relentless, and Dan Nguyen, program director for the Boys & Girls Club of Alameda, holds a whistle between his lips as he perpetually flags his arm at the players.
Then it begins, one basket, swoosh, a swarm of arms and legs tilt to one side of the court, the gaggle of teenagers' heads by the bleachers moves in unison to one side and then the next. Then, swoosh, again, swoosh, again and again. The buzzer goes off as the ball trickles out from the basket, and then there's a sudden flying of arms and yells echoing through the gym.
"Yeah, that's right! The game is over! No time out, the game is over!" Howard yells out proudly as one of his players comes flying at him.
"We won!" says Encinal High School student Jerrard Green, 15. "It feels good to win. We don't always win, but I like coming here (to the Boys & Girls Club) to play and share with people."
He runs back out to the court as the next teams lines up.
"You have to meet them where they're at," said Reginald Harrison, 29, youth program specialist for the Alameda Point Collaborative, an agency that is working with the Boys & Girls Club to make the league possible. "Basketball is what they like, and you have to reach a balance between giving them what they like and connecting and exposing them to new things."
The free basketball league was formed in response to requests made from Boys & Girls Club teens at the West Alameda Teen Center and Chipman Middle School, who wanted more organized sports. It is the brainchild of program aid Reginald James, 23, and Nguyen, 29. James and Nguyen come from similar low-income backgrounds in Oakland as do many of the mostly African-American teens they are serving. They were both involved in after-school programs, such as the YMCA and park department basketball leagues that were popular with their peers when they were growing up.
"The league would give them a place to go that's safe and can relieve their tension," Nguyen says. "These kids are good athletes coming from a lot of adversity, something I also had to deal with coming from a poor background. Being here gives them something they really need in their lives."
With this in mind, Nguyen and James held a draft on July 15 at the Boys and Girls Club's satellite site formed in collaboration with Chipman Middle School. Six teams were formed, named by the team members: Taylor Street Triple Threat, Alameda Point Stallions, Slammers, We Serving Early, Cross Overs, and the (Buena Vista) Boss Ballers. Coaches were also picked by the team members and James and Nguyen serve as referees (They also play on teams when they're not refereeing).
On July 21, the Boys and Girls Club had its first 10-minute streetball pick-up game -- rapid games normally seen on playgrounds -- complete with referees and an audience of 60-70 teens who keep coming back every Tuesday and Thursday.
Some of the girls participate, although many of them opt for socializing by the bleachers or going bowling with program assistant Shana Hullana.
The league has since grown in popularity and has become a hub of socializing as the bleachers buzz with gossip, while everyone, at all times, keeps up with the rhythm of the game.
"Basketball catches the eye of the inner city kids," Howard says. "They see people who look like them, who are coming from similar backgrounds and succeeding, and they connect with it. This game teaches them discipline and how to work as a team to compete. I have yet to see a physical confrontation."
Although there have been no confrontations, there has been an "incident" which Boys & Girls Club Director George Phillips is quick to address at the beginning of Thursday evening's games. Phillips calls a quick pause to the games and stands in the center of the court in order to address a now very serious and somber group of teens. As they listen quietly, Phillips talks about how last week Nguyen had $200 in cash and credit cards stolen from his car when a teen took his car keys from where he had set them by the scoreboard.
Nobody moves as Phillips matter-of-factly tells the story.
"It's wrong, we all know it's wrong, and that's not what we're here for," Phillips says sternly. "We all work hard to make this program available to all of you and I know it's important to you. When we find out who did it, (that person) will not be a part of this program. This behavior is unacceptable."
The silence holds and Phillips does not belabor the point. "Now let's play."
Although Nguyen is disappointed by this incident, his resolve is unshaken. "It comes with the territory," Nguyen says. "They are coming from rough lives. My work is very gratifying to me because it reminds me of when I was a kid and was in their shoes."
Nguyen envisions the league growing to include more hours, like other programs that go to 2 a.m. He would like see full-on referees, open gym and more midnight basketball sessions. The league, which is popular among teens, has also sparked a lot of attention among adults.
"The fire department called and expressed interest in an adult team. I'm thinking we can have the adults play with the kids, or East End vs. West End and then play at a larger gym like Encinal High School."
For now, Nguyen is seen darting across the court in sync with the flurry of bodies that rush from end to end in this last month before school begins. Nguyen said the games will culminate with playoffs in August and a tournament style game with single elimination.
"But that's just the beginning," Nguyen said as a broad smile crossed his face.
Comments
Post a Comment