CHICAGO — Some of the best young ball players in Chicago battled it out on Friday night for the “Hoops in the Hood” citywide championship.
It all went down at Seward (William) Park on the Near North Side as 400 kids from 14 different neighborhoods played their hearts out in the last games of the season.
“I grew up in the inner city, I was able to go to different neighborhoods within my community because I could play basketball,” Hoops in the Hood Program Director Alex Anaya said.
Anaya said he has lost count of all the courts he has played and coached on across the city since taking the job of program director for Hoops in the Hood sponsor Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC).
“Basketball is violence prevention, basketball is community safety. Basketball unifies if we allow it to,” Anaya said.
It’s really changed my life because, obviously, I’ve had a lot more friendships and it’s, like, become a really good hobby that I have,” Sarah Carreto, who participated in the championship, said.
Carreto’s teammates, who come from all different corners of the city, were all brought together by their love of basketball.
“Sometimes as Chicagoans, we can get in our neighborhoods and stay, but this program encourages us to get out, get involved. And we bring students back and forth between different communities with that engagement,” Lisa Cooper, who works for Hoops in the Hood sponsor State Farm, said.
For 18 years State Farm has backed the players, providing gear and a place to safely play ball.
Gresham eighth-grader Darran Stewart said Hoops in the Hood has been a game-changer in every way.
“This taught me how to, like, be a team player and stuff like that. Pass the ball, not be selfish, and it keeps a person out of the streets,” Stewart said.
This year marks the largest enrollment to date for Hoops in the Hood, a testament to the program’s success.