Approximately 500 Teens Participated in Popular Nine-Week Summer Program
On Friday, August 17, the Cheyenne River Youth Project® in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, hosted its final Midnight Basketball event of the summer at its Cokata Wiconi Teen Center, bringing the 17th season of the always-popular program to a close. The highlight of the evening was a 5-on-5 tournament with double elimination.
Eighty-four teens attended the 9 p.m. event, and six teams competed. In first place: Super Cool Awesome, with Mike Heideman, Nate Widow, Xavier Norris, Kaytonna Bartlett, Brandon LeBeau and Trevor Bad Warrior. The players took home hoodies with the MBB 2012 logo, Adidas draw-string backpacks and Nike T-shirts.
In second place was Spalding, with Kasten Carter, Jaden Yellow Earrings, Brennon Iron Hawk, Miles Phillips, Tate Widow, Shilo Hollow Horn and Dalton Fischer. The young men took home MBB 2012 T-shirts.
And finally, in third place: Adidas, with Baylon Weston II, John Schlecht, Eric Brown, Kyzier Dauphinias and Nathanial Nordvold. They also took home MBB 2012 T-shirts.
“It was a fun night, because everyone was so excited to be there,” said Tammy Granados, CRYP’s wellness coordinator. “The teens set up their own teams and named them, and they brought really great attitudes and sportsmanship to the tournament.”
Granados reported that more than 500 teens attended Midnight Basketball during its nine-week season.
“We know that our local kids don’t have anywhere to go on a Friday night,” she said. “We don’t have malls, movie theaters or even a bowling alley on Cheyenne River, so we love seeing them have a positive outlet for their time and energy. Midnight Basketball has been doing that for 17 seasons, and now we have Junior Midnight Basketball earlier in the evening so the younger kids can benefit from the program as well.”
The 1996 brainchild of a former long-term volunteer, Midnight Basketball is one of CRYP’s most successful programs. Held on Friday nights from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the Cokata Wiconi Teen Center gymnasium, it’s open to youth ages 13 to 18 and includes music and refreshments. Throughout the June-to-August summer season, teens participate in pick-up games as well as organized activities inspired by the NBA All-Star Game, such as a dunk contest, a three-point shootout and a skills challenge. Each season culminates with tournament in mid-August, either 3-on-3 or 5-on-5.
Julie Garreau, CRYP’s executive director, said Midnight Basketball’s benefits to Cheyenne River’s young people are immeasurable.
“The program fosters healthy and sober lifestyles, physical fitness, personal responsibility, teamwork and positive self-esteem,” she explained. “It also helps alleviate bullying, because it brings together all kids — not just the ‘cool kids.’”
Garreau also observed that many of the teens who tend to get into trouble around town choose to come to Midnight Basketball rather than stay on the streets. The proof, she said, is in the law enforcement statistics.
“We’ve seen plenty of evidence that community-wide crime levels go down on Midnight Basketball nights,” she said. “That makes the program important for the well-being of our entire community as well as for the kids themselves, and over the years, we’ve seen community support grow by leaps and bounds.”
Local law enforcement officers and the local school system routinely provide volunteers to help staff the weekly events at CRYP’s East Lincoln Street campus.
“Their support helps us bridge gaps in the community,” Garreau said. “Through the adult volunteers, donors and supporters, Midnight Basketball has become a multigenerational program; and through the police officers who give their time, we’re building other important relationships that we hope will prove to be lasting ones.”
All children and teens must be sober to attend Midnight Basketball and Junior Midnight Basketball. No alcohol, drugs, tobacco, abusive language, fighting or gang colors are tolerated. Everyone must sign in on arrival and sign out upon departure, and since teens generally sign out after the City of Eagle Butte’s 10 p.m. curfew, each teen has a 15-minute grace period after sign-out to get home. Parents are welcome to visit Cokata Wiconi to visit with their children. CRYP keeps all sign-in/sign-out sheets on file, so parents also may call on Monday mornings to verify their children’s attendance.
To learn more about the Cheyenne River Youth Project® and its programs, and for information about making donations and volunteering, call (605) 964-8200 or visitwww.lakotayouth.org. And, to stay up to date on the latest CRYP news and events, visit the youth project’s Facebook “Cause” page. All Cause members will receive regular updates through Facebook.
The Cheyenne River Youth Project®, founded in 1988, is a grassroots, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing the youth of the Cheyenne River reservation with access to a vibrant and secure future through a wide variety of culturally sensitive and enduring programs, projects and facilities that ensure strong, self-sufficient families and communities.