WHAT: Calvin Murphy, retired Houston Rockets and a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, will conduct a basketball clinic before about 225 Houston-area boys and girls – ages 7 to 17 – hoop it up at the annual Harris County Street Olympics Summer Games 3-on-3 Basketball Championship Tournament. The two-day, single-elimination tourney at Fonde Recreation Center, operated by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, features youth from recreation centers that participate in the nonprofit Street Olympics events. About 43 teams will vie for first- and second-place trophies during this signature competition. In the past five weeks of preliminary rounds, more than 500 boys and girls at 45 neighborhood agencies participating in the free Summer Games have competed for the opportunity to qualify for the championship tournament. The Houston Rockets, a Street Olympics sponsor, will give T-shirts to 50 players who participate in Thursday’s Houston Rockets clinic led by Calvin Murphy.
WHO: Calvin Murphy, former Houston Rocket and a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer
About 225 youth basketball players
Timeline:
9 a.m. Thursday: Calvin Murphy welcomes players and conducts clinic with 50 select players
10:15 a.m. Thursday: Games begin for youth ages 12 and under
10:15 a.m. Friday: Tournament tips off for youth ages 13 to 17
WHERE: Fonde Recreation Center | 110 Sabine St., 77007 (Key Map 493K)
VISUALS: Calvin Murphy conducts clinic. Children as young as 7 years old compete in half-court basketball games while teammates and supporters cheer them on.
BACKGROUND: The Harris County Street Olympics summer programming fulfills a critical need in Houston. Studies have shown that without access to affordable, high-quality summer programming, working families lack safe and enriching places for their children to attend while parents are at work. Children, especially those from underserved areas, have difficulty retaining what they learned in the previous school year. Approximately 3,000 Houston-area youth, ages 6 to 17, are expected to participate in the free Summer Games, Discovery Camp, 3-on-3 Basketball, and Learn-to-Swim sessions over eight weeks – culminating in the Final Event/Bright Futures Fair and closing ceremonies that will include a “Parade of Champions” on August 4 at NRG Arena. The Street Olympics mission is to implement and sustain programs that provide training, support, and resources that lead to healthy and productive lives for youth.
INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES: Some of the youth players, Calvin Murphy, and Street Olympics organizers.
ON-SITE CONTACT: David Ellison: 281-352-9724 (cell)
With a big assist from the Houston Rockets, the Harris County Street Olympics Summer Games 3-on-3 Basketball Championship Tournament will tip off with about 225 Houston-area boys and girls vying for trophies during the two-day event.
Calvin Murphy – a former guard for the Houston Rockets, a Street Olympics sponsor – will conduct a basketball clinic before the Thursday games at Fonde Recreation Center, which is operated by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department.
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis’ office, which coordinates the nonprofit Street Olympics with the help of a Board of Directors, will conduct the two-day tournament that starts at 9 a.m. Thursday, July 13. The tourney continues at 10:15 a.m. Friday.
“The basketball tournament instills leadership and confidence in our youth, who will be our leaders for tomorrow,” Commissioner Ellis said. “Of course, we want them to have fun this summer playing organized basketball. But we also teach them that basketball, like life, is a team sport that also promotes positive leadership skills that can be used at school and throughout their lives.”
The event consists of Houston-area youth – ages 7 to 17 – playing on 43 teams in the single-elimination tournament.
In the past five weeks of preliminary rounds, more than 500 boys and girls at 45 neighborhood agencies participating in the free Summer Games competed for the opportunity to display their skills at the Championship Tournament. In addition to trophies for the first- and second-place winners, the Houston Rockets will give T-shirts to the 50 clinic participants.
The 3-on-3 Basketball is a major component of the Summer Games and one that brings youth together from across the Houston area to compete in a positive environment. Also, hundreds of Houston-area youth are competing in Summer Games activities that are being hosted at approximately 55 participating sites for an opportunity to attend the Final Event at NRG Arena on Friday, Aug. 4.
In addition to basketball, Summer Games competitive activities include kickball, hopscotch, softball throw, Hula Hoop medley, jump rope, chess, art and other so-called street games. The Final Event also hosts the Bright Futures Fair, which features interactive booths and hands-on activities that emphasize health, safety and environmental awareness.
Other Street Olympics summer programs include free Learn-to-Swim lessons provided to low-income youth at two sites operated by the Harris County Aquatics Program. Throughout the summer, youth also are attending a Discovery Camp at Deussen Park, where the children experience a day trip to teach them about nature and the environment.
In June, the Street Olympics added to its programming the CDF Freedom Schools, developed by the Children’s Defense Fund, at the Youth Education Town (YET) at Finnigan Park. This program provides summer and after-school enrichment for children. The research-based and multicultural program model supports K-12 scholars and their families through five essential components: high quality academic and character-building enrichment; parent and family involvement; civic engagement and social action; intergenerational servant leadership development; and nutrition, health and mental health.