Harvest Ministries offering basketball summer league

WADESBORO — Seeing there was a need to provide the youth and community with summer programs, Harvest Ministries and a few Anson residents joined forces to offer the first Outdoor Basketball Summer League.

Registration for the co-ed basketball league runs through June 7 with a start date of June 8. There will be two leagues: youth and adult. Youth teams will be those who are 13 through 17-years-old and adults will be 18 and older.

Those who want to join but do not have a team can still register and administration will assign you to a team. Each team will be about eight to ten players.

There will be a $10 registration fee, which will cover the entire summer, and a waiver form for each participant to fill out. The money will go towards t-shirts, medals and trophies for the winners.

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays will be game days. Saturday games will run in the morning and weekday games will be at night. There will be about three or four games each day, depending on how many teams register.

At the end of the season there will be a playoff tournament with an elimination round and a trophy up for grabs. Parents, family and friends are welcome to attend games, bring chairs and cheer on their loved ones.

“We just wanted to do something for the summer,” Harvest Ministries Pastor Steve Adams said. “We have the outside court available that was updated recently.”

Adams reached out to BJ Tyson, Jamoszio Burch and Dekwan Burns to help out with the summer basketball league, along with Allen Jackson.

All of them were sick of sitting back and seeing another summer go by with limited resources for the youth in Anson County.

“When I was in high school, we had basketball…” Tyson said. “You can leave your basketball practice and go right into parks and rec and have a game…I think just having this suddenly is great.”

Together they brainstormed the idea of bringing a summer basketball league to the community, especially after seeing the positive reaction to Harvest Ministry’s law enforcement versus community basketball event in April. They all wanted to provide the youth with options, especially since it has been years since they have seen summer leagues offered to Anson’s youth.

The league will mostly be tournament-style games on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, but depending on the skill levels and interest of participants, there could be a mix of drills into the program.

“I just liked the idea because it keeps them off the streets,” Burch said. “They get to compete, practice. They get to be around somebody who cares…We put our four heads together and we’re doing it.”

By providing this opportunity, both children and adults of the county have a chance to escape their normal routines or the confines of their house to enjoy the outside and some friendly competition.

“We don’t want these kids to miss out on that type of opportunity.” Tyson said. “If it wasn’t for basketball, I wouldn’t have made it to where I’m at. If it wasn’t for basketball, I wouldn’t have met these types of guys or if it wasn’t for basketball, I wouldn’t have met lawyers on down the line or doctors down the line…and that’s another thing about basketball that a lot of people don’t know. It connects you with the whole world.”

Tyson was a stand out Bearcat basketball player and now plays in the Dominican Republic, with the hopes of eventually making it on a European team. Burch is an AAU basketball coach and Burns teaches at Morven Elementary School.

“Basketball is not only about playing basketball,” Burch said. “Its about building territory, building friendships and giving back to each other. It’s really like a family…Once you playing basketball, you locked in for life.”

The hope is for participants to not only enjoy the friendly tournaments and playing basketball, but to develop their character. Once you commit to the summer league, you should be ready to commit a whole summer filled with bonding, building and friendship.

“Every kid is going to get the opportunity to play,” Tyson said. “Every kid is going to get the opportunity to grow, learn and compete.”

Adams ensures this is not a fundraiser like the previous community basketball tournament. It is a league for the entire community.

For those who want to participate but do not have the money or transportation, Adams, Burns, Tyson and Burch all said they will help out. They will be supportive and collaborative to make sure each member of the community that would like to participate, can participate. They will offer rides for those who need it. No one will be left out that would like to participate.

“There’s nothing better than seeing a kid smile,” Burns said on why he is most excited for this summer league. “Having that experience to see the smile on a kid’s face really.”

There are also sponsorship opportunities available for local businesses. For more information about participating or becoming a sponsor, contact Adams at 704-695-2879, Tyson at 704-294-5320, Burch at 704-681-3347 or Burns at 704-294-3623.