Local News
PHS alumni unite to start YMCA basketball program
Three Palestine High School alumni are trying to give back to their community.
Jonathan Cary, Daniel Tatum and David Cummings, who are 2003 PHS graduates, have teamed up with the Palestine YMCA to begin a Summer Youth Basketball Program for area youths.
The program will be designed for seventh and eighth-grade students from Anderson County schools.
The young men participated in a similar program when they were at that age level and recalled the camaraderie and structure it provided in their lives.
“It is one of the things that got me to Rice and one of the foundations that made me graduate,” said Jonathan Cary, who played football at Rice University and was a Palestine Wildcat defensive end.
“I love this town and it is hurtful to see not a lot going on for the kids. This is the perfect opportunity for kids to go the Y, where they will have structure,” Cary said.
Palestine YMCA Director Michael Oranch and YMCA Program Director Casie Smith will be working with the three to coordinate the program.
“We want this to be a volunteer effort and do not want to burden the Y,” Cary said. “Without volunteers a program like this can’t happen.”
“We took it to the board and program committee and they are excited about it,” Oranch said.
“We are starting with this one team and hope to expand it in the future,” Oranch added.
There will not be a cost to the students for participating but they will have responsibilities, academic standards, community service, practice and fund-raisers to attend.
The group is putting together plans for fund-raisers and is accepting donations to cover the costs of the summer league.
“We will take any type or amount of donations. We need the support of the community,” Cary said.
Coaches, who will be expected to work with the team on a weekly basis, will be confirmed in January.
“Coaches will have to be role models and set good examples for others in their daily lives,” Oranch said. “They will be mentors to these young men.”
The team, which will be called the 76’ers, will be made up of students from all area schools.
“We are looking for 12-to-14 of the most well rounded kids from all area schools,” Cary said.
To kick off the basketball program a Dogwood Area Coaches Clinic will be held Saturday, April 3 at the YMCA.
The team will be selected during the clinic where they will participate in basketball drills and a physical.
“We will have check ups to make sure the players are physically sound and they will get a certificate of participation during the clinic,” Oranch said.
The team will participate in one youth basketball tournament per month throughout the summer in the East Texas region and perhaps in the Dallas area depending on fund-raisers which will provide for travel expenses.
Cummings, who was the PHS quarterback in 2002 when the Wildcats went 11-3 and also played football for the Oklahoma Panhandle State University along with Tatum, will be on hand during the week to work with coaches and players while Cary will be available on weekends to assist with tournaments.
For more information about the summer youth basketball program contact Oranch or Smith at the Palestine YMCA at 903-729-3139.
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