We Got Game

Yesterday, a few of the boys at the center and I played a game of basketball. Last week, showed them a picture of myself playing in high school and they didn’t believe it was me. So, I decided to challenge them to a friendly game of half-court. Using a slightly deflated soccer ball, we played two on two. This quickly changed to one on four, myself being the one. I often had a few boys hanging on my arms as I attempted a layup.

I found it quite difficult to dribble a deflated soccer ball, so today I decided to bring a real basketball donated by my friend Katy for the boys. We pumped it up and we headed to the court, this time with enough boys to play a full five-on-five game! We had a great afternoon playing together, and it was great to see some boys who do not often get a chance to play football (the older boys usually dominate the game) play ball with the everyone else.

The basketball crew

Although the boys have fun in any situation, I noticed the conditions of the basketball court were less than ideal. On one hoop, the rim has been completely torn off. I fear the other is close behind it. Have you ever tried to shoot at a hoop with a rim that is twisted sideways? Talk about difficult…I hope to replace one hoop using a donation I have received from my Aunt Jeannette. Eventually, I would like to have both hoops fully functional and the lines on the court be repainted.  

Broken rim

Non-existent rim