by Shawn Nowlin
The sound of Roanoke youth learning life skills through the game of basketball is something that Mayor Sherman Lea Sr. never gets tired of hearing.
Created to connect local youth with law enforcement and explain the parallels between the game of basketball and the game of life, the Annual Lea Youth Outdoor Basketball (LYOB) League is now in its seventh year. While basketball is what attracts participants to the League, Lea says it’s the life lessons they learn that he hopes they will remember the most.
This year’s event began on June 21 and will go through the end of July. Tuesday evenings focus on the fundamentals and life skills. Thursday nights, organized basketball games happen at Eureka Park. The league is open to any Roanoke City student between the ages of five and 18. Once the season starts, registration is available on-site.
As one league co-director, Lea is responsible for making sure that everything runs smoothly. That includes selecting the right people to speak to participants. Longtime community coach Joe Gaither once again was available to mentor the youth this year as was Sheriff Antonio Hash, among others.
“I had a great night participating in the Lea Youth Outdoor Basketball League,” wrote Hash on his Facebook page. “Community engagement seeks to engage the community better to achieve long-term and sustainable outcomes, processes, relationships, discourse, decision-making, and implementation. To be successful, it must encompass strategies and processes that are sensitive to the community context in which it occurs.”
League supporter Stacey Parker loves to give back to the community that helped raise him. Explaining why it’s important to have specific conversations with youth once they reach a certain age, he said, “I have cousins who participated in this event. It’s been proven that when adults invest in children at an early age, their chances of finding fulfillment in life and becoming productive members of society significantly increase.”
Sports, especially in the Black community, resonates on a deeper level. In light of the current events happening both locally and nationally, Parker says this tournament is more relevant than ever. “I’m almost 45 and I still have fond memories of the camps I participated in as a youth,” he added. “Seeing so many young people enjoy themselves while learning invaluable life skills makes all of the hard work and behind-the-scenes stuff worth it.”
This year’s event was presented by Mayor Lea and the Roanoke Police Department. All signs point to the Eighth Annual Lea Youth Outdoor Basketball happening next year. For more information, visit roanokeva.gov.
