Near West Recreation, which was started just four years ago, is a recreational basketball league that has over 200 youth participants, ages 7 to 12, competing on 18 co-ed teams this season. They serve six neighborhoods in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, thanks to a collaborative partnership with four non-profit community development corporations. The Near West Recreation manager stated that, “the league aims to provide year-round high-quality affordable recreation programs for families and to provide effective community outreach for families and businesses in the area.”
The league offers significant financial assistance for its participants, in order to ensure as many kids are able to play as possible. Additionally, all the coaches in the program are volunteers from the neighborhood, who strive to emphasize teamwork and teach the fundamentals, while still making the sport fun. For majority of these kids, it is their first time playing organized basketball. The league holds practice once per week, as well as one game per team on Saturdays. Even though they keep score at their games, they don’t have league standings. This allows the players to learn how to win and lose with grace, and not worry about the pressure of winning. At the end of every season, Near West Recreation hosts a celebration with all of the teams, players, coaches, and their families. The celebration includes a skills challenge so the kids can show off what they learned that season.
Near West Recreation plans to use the Under Armour gift card to purchase new basketballs for its league. They registered to become a part of the Jr. NBA to better their league through coaches training and to learn more skills and drills to teach their players. Through their focus on fostering a fun yet developmental environment, the Near West Recreation serves not only their participants but also the community as a whole.
