This column represents the thoughts and opinions of Jason Hennington. This is NOT the opinion of the Taylor Press. Last weekend, we hosted our 10th annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament. With the amount of teams, and the money we raised, I would say it was a success.
The tournament has come a long way since the first year in 2013. The event has grown and become an anticipated yearly event, but it has never been just about basketball.
I say all the time that the tournament is about community, basketball is just the avenue.
In addition to providing a local place for people to compete in the air condition during the middle of the summer, the tournament serves as a fundraiser for scholarships and a donation for a local organization.
The Shining Stars, who came aboard in 2014, uses the tournament as their biggest fundraiser for their organization. They run the concession stand, and they keep all of the profits.
The Shining Stars are a non-profit for adults with special needs. The organization coordinates outings for the group.
The Shining Stars play a championship game and receive rings afterwards.
Something unique about their game this year was the addition of a new player. About halfway through the game, a gentleman who has played in the tournament asked if his son, who has autism, could join the Shining Stars. He was added to the game and treated as if he has been a part of the team since day one. The young man made a new group of friends, and may eventually become a member of the Shining Stars.
That’s proof that basketball is just the catalyst to bringing people together.
Every year we have a three-point and free throw contest, and we just recently added a game of knock out. Being at year 10, the prizes for the contests were amplified. The three-point contest winner received a 32-inch TV, and a tablet with a keyboard was awarded to the winner of the free throw contest. A wireless boombox speaker was the prize for knockout.
I spoke to a young man who wanted to win the three-point contest.
“My daughter needs a TV,” he told me. Unfortunately, he didn’t win the contest. Once the free throw contest started, he realized he didn’t have any more cash. He offered to Cash App me $1 to play. I happened to have one single dollar bill left in my wallet, and told him, “I got you.”
Later, I saw him and his daughter, and asked if she was the one he was trying to win the TV for.
“Yeah, she didn’t get it, but she got a tablet,” he said. That story isn’t about the competition, it’s about how small offering put a smile on his daughter’s face. That alone is probably enough for him to want to come back and play next year.
The competition is always great, and continues to increase, but what the tournament does for the community is the heart of it all. Not only is it a great place for competition, it’s a place to network and meet new people.
It takes months to make this event possible, and I don’t do it alone. There are sponsors, volunteers and competitors, and I want to thank each and every one of them.
The tournament wears me out, but it’s all worth it. I don’t need anything in return except for people to enjoy the event and benefit from it.
I’m going to get off my soapbox now and try to catch up on my sleep … who am I kidding, Jasmine and Tiana are in El Paso, I’m going to play 2K and watch good, old-school cartoons.
“I just bare my soul, I don’t expect nothing back.” – Jay-Z
