By John W. Goodwin Jr. jgoodwin@vindy.com YOUNGSTOWN Every weekend, the gymnasium at the McGuffey Centre is filled with teen basketball players, volunteer coaches and spectators hoping to see good, competitive basketball. The weekend games are about more than basketball or winning, however. Organizers say those games teach dozens of kids responsibility, teamwork and, in some cases, entrepreneurship. Jennifer Miller, the center?s executive director, said the Teen Sports League was started several years ago by a center volunteer as a means of teaching teenage boys and girls responsibility. The basketball games were combined with education about becoming a responsible teen and AIDS prevention. ?This is our third year with the Teen Saturday Sports League. It was started by Keilan Turner as a way to bring more teens to the center. We want to increase teen activity here,? she said. ?This builds camaraderie, sportsmanship, and gives the kids the chance to meet kids from different parts of the area.? For those children not playing the actual game of basketball, there is the opportunity to pick up some skills in sales and entrepreneurship. ?We allow the kids to sell snacks and things like that during the games, which builds entrepreneurship,? Miller said. The games started in January with more than 100 children divided into eight different teams. The tournament play continues through April, ending with a round of playoff games. Charles Mickens, center board president, said the games help highlight children with extraordinary athletic talent. Those less-talented players, he said, just have fun playing the game. ?Firstly, I want these kids to just have fun. ... This interaction with people you normally wouldn?t see is beneficial for all the kids involved,? he said. Mickens also said the league works to keep kids busy and off the streets on weekends when many children have idle hands and are prone to get into more trouble. ?Kids need to have more activities,? Mickens added. ?There are a lot of things said about kids being in the streets with nothing to do. The people in the city, as a whole, are addressing this, and we are giving them something productive to do with adults who are willing to work with them.? The center, at 1649 Jacobs Road, is opening up activities related to the sports league to all area youths with a teen dance March 24. Proceeds from the dance, which is open to all young people, will go toward the cost of trophies for players in the sports league.
Source: http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/mar/11/program-teaches-more-than-basketball/?mobile
eddie murphy ufc 143 weigh ins micron ceo glenn miller who do you think you are superpac steve appleton
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.