The basketball courts at the North Avondale Recreation Center were packed Friday evening, filled with local youth and proud coaches who double as police officers, firefighters and rec center staff. The Queen City Swish basketball championship games took over the courts all evening. The players are youth aged 12-17 from across Cincinnati. “It’s all about the kids, teaching them things that I had to learn on my own,” said Lt. Edward Wallace with the Cincinnati Fire Department. “I didn’t have that father figure to kind of teach me how to play basketball. So a lot of the pitfalls that I had to go through I’m trying to not let them get into those pitfalls.”Life lessons are a key part of the program, which has been going on several years. Players like Terrell France, a 10th grader at Taft High School, are thankful for it. “They take the time out of their day to do stuff for us,” France said, adding that his new mentors have taught him a lot. “Keep your head in sport. Keep your head in school. Make sure school comes first.”The league runs each spring for six weeks.”They’re here every Friday. They’re on time. We feed them,” said Tiffany Stewart, division manager with Cincinnati Recreation. “They’re able to play with kids from different neighborhoods and not have any issues, so they’re able to get along.”The end game is much bigger than basketball. “It gives us an opportunity to work with young people in something that they love doing which is basketball but also having the opportunity to talk to them about serious topics: about their health, about violence, about drugs,” said Officer Eddie Hawkins, who runs Cincinnati Police’s Youth Services Unit. “So now when we’re out in the schools, we’re out in the community, it’s now a friendship that’s been formed. So it breaks down a lot of barriers.”
The basketball courts at the North Avondale Recreation Center were packed Friday evening, filled with local youth and proud coaches who double as police officers, firefighters and rec center staff.
The Queen City Swish basketball championship games took over the courts all evening. The players are youth aged 12-17 from across Cincinnati.
“It’s all about the kids, teaching them things that I had to learn on my own,” said Lt. Edward Wallace with the Cincinnati Fire Department. “I didn’t have that father figure to kind of teach me how to play basketball. So a lot of the pitfalls that I had to go through I’m trying to not let them get into those pitfalls.”
Life lessons are a key part of the program, which has been going on several years.
Players like Terrell France, a 10th grader at Taft High School, are thankful for it.
“They take the time out of their day to do stuff for us,” France said, adding that his new mentors have taught him a lot. “Keep your head in sport. Keep your head in school. Make sure school comes first.”
The league runs each spring for six weeks.
“They’re here every Friday. They’re on time. We feed them,” said Tiffany Stewart, division manager with Cincinnati Recreation. “They’re able to play with kids from different neighborhoods and not have any issues, so they’re able to get along.”
The end game is much bigger than basketball.
“It gives us an opportunity to work with young people in something that they love doing which is basketball but also having the opportunity to talk to them about serious topics: about their health, about violence, about drugs,” said Officer Eddie Hawkins, who runs Cincinnati Police’s Youth Services Unit. “So now when we’re out in the schools, we’re out in the community, it’s now a friendship that’s been formed. So it breaks down a lot of barriers.”
