Screeches of laughter and excitement from the crowd mixed with the screeches of neon-colored tennis shoes as they slid across the court at the Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center.
A herd of teen players ran up the court. Halfway there, they tumbled into a dog pile of jerseys, tugging over the ball.
But rather than pushing and shoving each other out of frustration, a tall and slender boy extended a helping hand down to a short but quick player from the opposing team, patted him on the back and raced across the court for a free-throw shot.
With arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed, coach Tandra Simmons nodded her head in approval of this sportsmanship from the sidelines.
Before each game, Simmons spends about 20 minutes teaching these kids about character, respect and trust.
These lessons are part of a new life-skills program implemented by the City of Gainesville for its Summer Heatwave Program for the youth.
The program is put together by the efforts of the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs department of the city as well as the Gainesville Police Department.
Simmons said she tries to relate life skills to basketball in each lesson.
“Sports is the only thing that really gets kids’ attention these days,” Simmons said.
Although this is Simmons’ first year volunteering for the city, she has worked for the Boys and Girls Club of Alachua County for seven years.
By learning about respect, the kids regard each other as teammates and respect their community members as well, Simmons said.
“One day, they’ll give it back to the community,” she said.
Running until Aug. 14, the Summer Heatwave Program accepts kids ages 11-18.
Last summer, the program had about 200 kids and now has about 400.
“It brings them into a safe environment where they can just play basketball and have fun,” said Michelle Weydert, the program coordinator.
Other elements of the program include a teen lounge and pool parties.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 7/7/15]
