Boys 2 Men Basketball Diaries

Today was a very productive and fun day for the boys. Teamwork was the theme of today. 8 boys showed up to the group today. Although we thought that it was going to thunderstorm, we planned 4:30 pm to 5:15 pm, for basketball, hoping that the sky would be clear. We were very fortunate that there was no storm, and managed to play some basketball on the basketball court across the street from Regent Park Focus. We managed to play 2 games. Not only did this teach the kids about teamwork, they got some exercise and had fun doing it.

The Regent Park Community Centre across the street was nice enough to lend us their basketball for the boys. During snack time at 5:15 pm, Jerry and James talked to the boys about gang mentality and hip-hop cultures. It was interesting to hear what the boys had to say. Most of them believe that gang violence has really subsided in Regent Park; they thought that they didn't see much gang activities in Regent Park. They also seemed to stress on the importance of the 'no snitching' policy. At the end of the day, we played a game where one balloon was tied to one leg of each person. The point of the game was to pop everybody else's balloon while leaving your own balloon. The person who remains at the end without having his balloon popped got a prized of a bag of candies. This game was supposed to teach the boys how to strategize and make alliances. None of that happened, but it was all in good fun.  Tadios was the only player left.  He took the bag of candies home.  

- James