GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — With violence an ongoing issue in Grand Rapids in recent years, one organization is looking to stop it through sports.
For more than 20 years, the Urban Youth Summer Basketball League has worked to create a community for kids here in Grand Rapids during the months they're out of school, and that time of year is once again approaching.
It's a league that Albert Rice Jr. created with a singular goal.
"Getting kids off the street and getting them out of trouble," says Rice, Jr. "And also work on their game."
And within those two decades, the kids have gone off to big places, including colleges across the state and country.
"Everybody can't become NBA pros, but you can become model citizens in society," says Ernest Brewster, Jr., a league board member.
But for a league with the word basketball right in the name, it's about much more than hoops.
The league provides a safe space inside a city that saw 23 homicides last year.
"What's going on in the community? There's a crisis, there's conflicts," says Zachary Harris, the league's operational manager. "How do we deescalate that?"
For Harris, a partnership with the Grand Rapids Police Department is instrumental.
"Any time that we have an opportunity to walk alongside an organization that is meaningful and wants to uplift the community, especially with our youth, we want to get involved," says Captain Cathy Williams with GRPD.
A simple gesture, potentially going a long way to building trust.
"Having fun with the kids, letting them see us smile or make a basketball hoop," she says. "Not me, I'll be missing them."
"When we're talking about bridging something and walking together, this is where it starts at," says Harris. "Right here."
A start of a community partnership Rice Jr. is proud to see continue to grow.
"A lot of kids have come back and said, Mr. Rice, if it wasn't for you I would've been in trouble or in jail," says Rice, Jr.
The UYSBL is looking for players, coaches and sponsors before the league begins on June 9th. To get your kid signed up or volunteer as a coach, you can contact Zachary Harris at (616) 309-5346 or zvhsr@yahoo.com.
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