April 25. 2007
Page B6
S ports
League Niche For Alternative Schools
Basketball
program brings
opportunity
A ltern ativ e high school stu ­
dents d o n 't alw ays get the sam e
o p p o rtu n ities o ffe re d at public
high scho o ls, esp ec ially w hen it
com es to sports. But several a l­
ternative schools w ithin the m etro
area are able to identify w ith their
classm ates and schools through
basketball, and th at's som ething
the in stitu tio n s' a d m in istra to rs
call an op p o rtu n ity fo r success.
T he nine-team altern ativ e b a s­
ketball league w as e stab lish ed in
1999 w hen M ichael C ru se and JJ
Lincoln created a school w ithin
the U rban L eague o f P ortland.
They lost their g ran t a few years
later, m eaning the school could
no longer o perate, but the league
has lived on since Jam ie S tasi o f
O regon O utreach, Inc. took over.
High school students from northeast Portland's McCoy Academy get a
shot at sportsmanship in a championship game for alternative schools.
o v erse ein g the team s, referees
and g ym nasium sites since 2003.
T he e ig h t-g a m e seaso n and
p lay o ff gam es initially took place
at P eninsula Park, but in recent
seasons T ony H opson o f S e lf E n­
hancem en t, Inc. has d o n ated his
T h a t’s the m ain d ifferen ce, she
said, betw een altern ativ e schools
and o th e r ty p es. But th is has
h elp ed g iv e them an o p p o rtu n ity
to b u ild th e ir pride.
“ I'v e receiv ed m u ltip le co m ­
m en ts from p aren ts o f all d iffe r­
ent sch o o ls, about b eing able to
root them on an d be p o sitiv e ,”
she said . “T h ey h a v e n 't been
su ccessfu l in reg u lar sch o o ls for
v ario u s reaso n s, and this gives
them an o p p o rtu n ity fo r s u c ­
c e s s .”
The nine schools in the league are
Pioneer High School, McCoy A cad­
emy, Helensview High School, Youth
E m p lo y m e n t In s titu te , O p en
Meadow, Cascade, Fir Ridge C am ­
pus, Portland Youth Builders and
PACE Academy at Parkrose.
Urban Focus for Baseball Urged
DROPPING
THE
BALL
DAVE WINFIELD
wn h
fa c ility 's gym .
S tasi said the sm all size o f a l­
tern ativ e high sch o o ls can hinder
th eir ab ility to have e x tra c u rric u ­
lar ac tiv itie s (en ro llm en t is an y ­
w here from 20 to 100 for the P ort­
land m etro schools).
The Helensview High School Phoenixes celebrate a league championship April 19 by
scoring a 51-49 victory over the Gladys McCoy Academy Panthers.
Michael Levin
Hall of Famer
tackles decline
in participation
by D ave W infield
How many times did your parents tell
you to never give up when you were
young? Did they tell you that if you took
your eye off the ball, you w ould drop it?
Well, apparently M ajor League Baseball
has done ju st that and it has hurt its overall
business and standing as our "national
pastime."
A fter w itnessing the effects o f m illions
o f young African Am ericans passing up
baseball diam onds for basketball courts
and football fields, I know that baseball
o rganizatio n s from tee-ball to M ajor
League Baseball need to refocus and be
more proactive in developing urban black
talent and prom oting the
gam e in the inner-cities o f
America.
As I discuss in my new
book "Dropping The Ball:
B aseball's T roubles and
How W e Can and M ust
Solve Them ," I believe that
all levels of organized base­
ball h av e lo st sig h t o f
America's black youths and
fans. O ver the last three
decades, the transform ation o f the sport
has not kept pace with the cultural shifts
in A m erica. As a result our youngsters
have left the gam e for sports that actively
market to the young black dem ographic.
M any experts say that baseball is on
the decline in general, and does not hold
the prem iere stance am ong A m erican
sports as it once did. A m ong African
A m ericans, any poll w ould tell you that
football and basketball - at both the co l­
lege and professional levels - have sur­
passed baseball as the sports to play.
S p o k e s p e o p le fo r M a jo r L e a g u e
B aseball m ight d isag ree, citin g record-
b re a k in g a tte n d a n c e in b o th M a jo r
L eague and M inor L eag u e B aseball in
2006, but they w ould have to also c o n ­
D uring the m id -1970s, black participa­
tion in M ajor League Baseball rose to a
high o f 28 percent, but has since declined
to the current 8 percent o f all m ajor leagu­
ers. T here are num erous reasons for this
trend.
First, in a chicken-and-egg situation,
young A frican A m ericans don't have the
same num ber o f role m odels to look up to
in MLB. W hereas I grew into the gam e
I believe that all levels o f
organized baseball have lost
sight o f America's black
youths and fans.
_Da,eWin„eia
cede the fact that the m ark etin g effo rts
for the N BA and NEL have been far more
su ccessfu l than that o f b aseb all. By
p o sitio n in g b asketball and fo o tb all as
faste r an d m uch m ore hip in p re se n ta ­
tio n , th e ir leag u es seem to reso n ate
b etter w ith the cu rren t y oung, black,
urban, h ip -h o p g en eratio n .
idolizing Hank Aaron. W illie M ays. Bob
G ibson and dozens o f other superstars -
we all w anted to be like them - today's
youths have but a handful o f genuine
black all-stars to look up to and model their
gam es after.
T h ese y o u n g sters also d o n 't often
have the fields o r eq u ip m en t to d ev elo p
th eir skills, eith er. W hen y o u 're a kid in
the in n er city , it is m uch ea sie r to buy a
$20 b ask etb all and find a b lack to p co u rt
to p ractice on than to buy a g lo v e and
bat and find a b aseball diam o n d o r even
a san d lo t, not to m ention the o th e r kids
you'd need to play a d ecent gam e o f ball.
For the kids w ho are lucky enough to
live near a field and can participate in an
organized league, they often find their
team s under-funded and relying on the
support o f family, friends and the com m u­
nity for upkeep fees, travel costs and
coaches to help develop their talents.
At the sam e tim e, the sport u sually
d o esn 't focus on black players w ithin
sight o f th eir ow n stad iu m s. M ajor
L eague B aseball and its team s spend
m illio n s in in tern atio n al talen t sc o u t­
ing, train in g cam p s, signing bonuses
and salaries. T h e huge in tern atio n al
influx into the sp o rt o v er the past 20
y ears - as g reat as it is fo r d ev elo p m en t
o f the gam e in C arib b ean , A sian and
S outh A m erican co u n tries - has d ra sti­
cally reduced the p articip atio n o f young
A frican A m ericans.
Dave Winfield is a veteran o f 22 Major
League seasons and a 12-time Major
League All Star.
alu' 'jJvœtkutit (Ohsrrurr
2nd Annual Basketball
High School Classic
*
In memory of Cory Neal Washington, 1965-1991
Come see the best of Portland high school basketball play!
Includes members of Portland Public high schools' Men's and Women's Teams!
Be there to support your school!
2007 (¡iris I'eam B
1 lead ( nach: Michael Harper
2007 Girls Team "A"
1 lead ( oach: Floyd I lall
Players:
Hifh School:
Players:
High School:
Janita Bodan
Nvesha Sims
CaitlinGrimm
Jessica M usgrave
Aliy ah G reen
M ichaelaP in
Kara Kasch
A m anda Anderson
Shaw ndez Santiago
M elessa Patten
Jefferson
Jefferson
W ilson
Tara Cook
Josephine Young
Laquay Kennedy
T ryisha Blake
N am -Phuong Hoang
Shardai Smith
Mariah Ladd
Claire Groth
Lissie Parr
JessicaG ilm ore
Grant
Grant
Jefferson
Jefferson
Benson
Benson
St. Mary's
Cleveland
Cleveland
W ilson
New this year:
PIL Boys Allstar
Game roster
to be announced.
Grant
Lincoln
Franklin
Franklin
Marshall
Marshall
Benson
*
Saturday. May 26, 2007 at SEI (3920 N. Kerby, Portland OR)
Doors open at 2:30 p.m. • Men's Tournament at 3 p.m. • Women's Tournament at 4 p.m.
Proceeds raised go to the Joyce Washington M emorial Scholarship Fund and toour at-risk Portland youth to attend sutninercanip. athletic and journalism programs and other after-school programs.
For infonnation call Mark Washington at 503-288-0033
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