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If you have a competitive streak, don’t miss out on what its creators deem the best organized youth basketball tournament in the city.
Perseverance Mentoring is hosting its first annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament for middle school and high school age youth on June 26.
The tournament will be a battle of the best young Northside ballers, and organizers are expecting as many as 16 teams in both the high school and middle school divisions.
Each team can consist of up to four players, and winning teams will be the first to score 15 points. The tournament will be held at Jefferson Recreation basketball courts in the Central Northside and will eliminate teams based on double elimination rules. The event, which costs $40 per team, will raise money for Perseverance Mentoring and introduce youth to the group’s services.
The purpose of the event is “to raise awareness for Perseverance Mentoring, [which has] been around for a year now, and to get acquainted with [more young] males,” said Syreeta Davis, co-founder of the counseling and mentoring nonprofit. So far, Davis said about 20 youth have signed up.
The new Christian organization’s mission is to use sports as a conduit for instilling responsibility and integrity in the lives of youth. Since Davis and David Gordon founded organization about a year ago, it’s been run on a “shoe-string budget” and currently is sharing space with the Northside Coalition for Fair Housing.
But since March, Gordon and Davis have been meeting three times a week at Clayton Academy with 22 boys.
“We’re using a [Fellowship of Christian Athletes] curriculum. It teaches teamwork, honesty and integrity. Then we meet one-on-one with the boys and try to come up with a plan to get them to college,” said Davis, adding that she’s working on putting together a college tour.
“Eventually, we’d like to branch off into other sports, but we’re starting with basketball,” Davis said.
Perseverance Mentoring is waiting to find a source of funding before beginning their female mentoring program, Godly Divas.
Adults interested in serving as mentors should check out the group’s website, www.perseverancementoring.org.
To sign up for the tournament, call 412-894-3194, or stop down at their offices at 821 Brighton Road. Organizers hope to have most teams registered by Wednesday, June 9.
