a whole lotta "HOOP-la"

We are back at it again in the world of sports.  Basketball season is-a-jumpin.  For the first time ever, all three boys are on the same team.  Shawn moved Titus up in the rec league.  Thank goodness, because he's having the time of his life AND our schedule is so easy to remember.  It's definitely different than what we're used to, but the boys are having fun and learning more about the game.  Our team name is Shay-White.  No fancy jerseys here only cheap low-grade tee shirts.  But they don't care!  If Shawn were writing this post, he'd give you all the ins and outs of each boy's skill set and so forth.  But since it's just me, I'll just tell you that they all look like great!  So far we are 2-2 in the season.  Here's some pics of the action.  (Warning:  We've played 4 games since the start of this post.  Many, many pictures shown below.)

 Pregame prayer

 Please, someone assure me that he'll grow into his size 7.5 feet.

 

 A shot of all 3 shay boys

Here's a video from last night's game.

In addition to rec ball, Elijah and Titus will begin an 8 week long skills training program this Saturday, with Advanced Hoops.  They are looking forward to sharpening their skills on the court.

In the meantime, Shawn has gotten involved in a mentorship/basketball program with a man by the name of Gerald Jarmon.  It's called the Three Star Program and Mr. Jarmon is the president.  The Three Star Program's mission statement and goals are the following:

Our Mission:
The Three Star Foundation, Inc. challenges area youth to achieve their fullest potential as individuals and community
members by providing opportunities for intellectual, physical and spiritual development.
Strategic Goals:
1) To enhance academic achievement, retention and life-long learning through our structured educational programs.
2) To promote physical fitness, wellness and self-discipline through out recreational and athletic programs.
3) To facilitate the development of positive interpersonal relationships through our faith-based principles.

Shawn is honored to have an opportunity to work with such a great program and he's looking forward to picking his team soon and getting to know the players on a personal level.  Joseph attends school with Gerald's son, Gerald.  Coming up soon, Joseph will have an opportunity to shoot around in hope of trying out for an AAU team with young Gerald.  Will keep you posted on that.

The other week, Shawn took Joseph to his Three Star meeting because they were featuring a Harlem Globetrotter.  Here is a copy of the article from our local paper.  Look carefully at who made it into the picture!

Chris Franklin twirled the red, white and blue basketball on his fingertip.
“Round and round the ball goes and where it stops, no one knows — not even me,” said Franklin, also known as “Handles,” a player for the Harlem Globetrotters since 2007.

M. DIANE McCORMICK, The Patriot-News  Chris "Handles" Franklin demonstrates his ball-handling skills for youths in the Three Star Foundation mentoring program.

On Dec. 19, the Susquehanna Township native appeared at Rowland Middle School, Harrisburg, for the weekly meeting of the Three Star Foundation, a faith-based mentoring program that attracts city youths in grades nine through 12 with the promise of playing basketball.

Franklin played on the Harrisburg Horizon around 2000 with Three Star’s founder and president, Gerald Jarmon, and went to Susquehanna Township  High School with one of the coaches. His family still lives in the area, and he recently bought a house in the city, he said.
Franklin’s visit with the students of Three Star Foundation is part of reinvesting in the city, he said before he spoke to the students.
“A lot of us need to come back and show them that their dreams are attainable,” he said. “What I’m doing right now is what I’ve always wanted to do since I was 6 years old.”
Once he was introduced to the group of about 35 teen boys sitting in Rowland’s cafeteria, Franklin didn’t take long before putting the basketball through a “brief demonstration of some of the things I do as I travel around the world.”
“I take that thing and spin it,” he said as he handled the ball — hence, the nickname — in almost freakish fashion around his arms and legs. “I go up. I go under.”
Franklin walked on his knees and pivoted on the floor from his hip, all while dribbling the ball.
He ended with the basketball planted firmly on the back of his neck as he took a bow. He told the students more about his career, reminding them of his Nike commercials, reality-TV appearances, and designation as player of the game for the NBA all-star celebrity game on ESPN.
“Oh, yeah, I seen that,” said a student in the front row.
Franklin recruited a group of volunteers to try to catch the ball from him, employing all the tricks in his arsenal to make each one drop out until a winner, the youngest boy of the group, emerged.
Franklin reminded the students to stay in school and listen to their mentors.
“You’re at a critical time of life,” he said. “Your schooling is very important. Stay in school. Get your education.”
Franklin’s message aligned with the message behind the Three Star Foundation, mentor Gregory Williams said. The program, started in 2005, helps usher boys into manhood, he said.
Anyone who fights, which is rare, is out of the program, he said. Tutors help students keep up their grades, and a pastor provides spiritual guidance.
“We see a lot of growth in those who complete the program,” Williams said. “If you’re here day one, we need you here in April when this program is over. Real men finish what they start.”
The students welcome the program’s structure, Williams said.
“They have role models, people that can model where they need to be and what they need to do and how they need to make decisions,” he said.
Micah Clark, a senior at Harrisburg High School, has attended Three Star for three years. He said the program has taught him to value education. He plans to attend Central Penn College and hopes to own a restaurant or sports bar someday. The basketball games teach about fair play, he said.
“You battle on the court, but you’re still cool after the game,” he said. He tells younger kids to “play hard, and it’s just a game. You’ve still got more to play.”
James Braxton, a cyberschool senior who has attended Three Star for four years, said that the program’s most important part is the “real-world” skills and standards that the mentors set.
“People don’t expect much from African-Americans except gang banging, going out in the streets, drugs, a lot going to jail, dropouts,” Braxton said. “They expect a lot of that, so in order for us to prove them wrong, we’ve got to set our goals to be successful in the future.”
The program’s basketball games helps players shed neighborhood rivalries, Braxton said.
“Either we have a beef with them or not, so it changes that, too, because we start to become closer, and out of that, we get understanding,” he said.
Franklin said he was there to give hope of success to city youths.
“All my life they said I couldn’t do it,” he said. “I’m doing it. I tell them that with hard work, getting an education, and doing the right thing, your dreams are attainable.”