Pitt hosts high school students for basketball tourney

The Panthers were sent home weeks ago, but basketball at Pitt has not entirely faded from the… The Panthers were sent home weeks ago, but basketball at Pitt has not entirely faded from the scene.

Pitt’s Local Area Youth Exercise, Recreation and Sports program, dubbed PLAYERS, was initiated by the University’s Community Leisure Learn Program earlier this January.

Pickup games of basketball on the street are common, and PLAYERS brings basketball enthusiasts off the street and into the courts at Trees Hall.

18-year-old Ajani Ogbonna, from Westinghouse High School, remarked about the program.

“It’s a good thing going on, we’re staying off the streets,” he said.

Ogbonna added that he would like to see more players on par with his team’s ability.

“We’re the best team, and we need some better competition,” he said.

Marti Pristas, the director of Community Leisure Learn, said the program was inspired by claims from a local Oakland resident who remarked about seeing so many high school kids hanging around Oakland’s streets with nothing to do.

Community Leisure Learn formerly had programs exclusively for younger kids and adults, but PLAYERS aimed to fill in the age gap for teenagers.

“The community is so thrilled we developed [PLAYERS] for the kids,” Pristas said. “I really had no idea how it would go. I took a leap of faith.”

Yesterday’s final game in the tournament-styled program pitted the self-named “Crons” against the “B. Side Stars.” Both teams had their share of layups and perspiration, but the Crons came out on top. The teams received sizeable first- and second-place trophies during a small awards ceremony that concluded the first season.

“The games got lively. They never got out of control, but let’s just say they got lively,” Pristas said with a chuckle.

To promote the program, Pristas initially advertised it to kids at the Friendship Church on Robinson Street. It was later promoted directly to local high schools. More than 50 kids were enrolled in the basketball program.

In addition to basketball, PLAYERS offers individual recreation through rock climbing, racquetball and dance instruction. Basketball is the most popular sport, but Pristas hopes the program’s more diverse activities will appeal to kids. About 20 members chose the individual activities over basketball.

“We’re going to continue to promote [the other sports] because trying something new isn’t always in the comfort zone of a lot of our high school students,” Pristas said.

While the participants hail from local high schools, such as Schenley, Westinghouse and Taylor Allderdice, volunteer Pitt students compose the majority of instructors, referees, timekeepers and program coordinators.

The Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity played a significant role in running PLAYERS. From officiating games to subbing in for absent teammates, volunteers from the fraternity worked the duration of the program.

Pi Kappa Alpha’s Community Chairman, Sam Chado, enjoyed his time spent working for the program.

“I’m big on working with kids,” he said. “It’s always good to do good for the community.”

Pi Kappa Alpha was awarded a poster signed by all of the program’s participants at the end of the night. The fraternity plans to return to PLAYERS when it launches its second season in September.

Along with attracting more female players, Community Leisure Learn hopes to provide team jerseys and trained officials in later seasons. They are also planning to expand the capacity of participants.

Individuals pay a $10 registration fee, and teams are charged $25 for the whole season.

PLAYERS met on Sundays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Pitt students were not displaced by the program because Trees Hall is closed at 6 p.m. on Sundays.