"Midnight Hoops" at the Comer Center

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The Gary Comer Youth Center (Comer Center) is providing an athletic safe haven for teenagers between the ages of 14 and 19 this Friday via their "Midnight Basketball" tournament.

"Midnight Basketball" is a monthly event held at the Comer Center where 25 to 35 youth basketball teams play in a round robin style tournament which means winning team stays on the court until a new winner emerges. The games are played during the hours of 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., when juvenile crime, violence and delinquency commonly takes place. This month's game will be held on Friday May 10.

LeVoria Thompson, Comer's Youth Center Athletic Coordinator, told the Chicago Citizen Newspaper that the program began two years ago.

"I started working here about two years ago and they weren't doing it before I got here, so I guess it [was] my idea to [have it] along with Associate Program Director, Monique Turner. She and I got together and decided that "Midnight Basketball" would be good for the youth, the [Gary Comer Youth Center], and the community," Thompson stated.

"I would like to see it grow a little bit more, maybe reach out to those that are outside of our community, instead of just having the young people from [Greater Grand Crossing]. Maybe have some from the north side come over, or the east side come over, or even further down south. I'd just like to see growth outside of the community," she added.

The tournament is not a fund raising event and has never been treated as one.

"I would never charge the youth anything, I think they need to be able to come free," Thompson emphasized.

Eligible participants typically range in age from 14 to 19-years-old and are usually under the age of 21 and are normally residents of the Greater Grand Crossing community. Game attendees under the age of 17 require a permission slip from a parent or guardian in order to be admitted into the building during the event. Refreshments are provided to everyone and participants in the past have received free t-shirts for being part of the game.

Parents are encouraged to involve themselves in the games as well by donating their time and resources to support the tournament as well as other Comer Center programs.

Located at 7200 S. Ingleside Ave., in Chicago, in the Greater Grand Crossing Neighborhood, the Comer Center was established in 2006 with the mission of providing high quality education for all of its student members and to help them attend college. It is a subsidiary non-profit organization of the Comer Science and Education Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit , and houses programs such as: media, culinary arts, horticulture, technology, athletics, college readiness, academic tutoring, health and wellness, and performing and visual arts.

The Comer Center is also is an award-winning facility designed by John Ronan Architecture is an imposing 80,000 square feet fixture in the Great Grand Crossing community and is also home to the South Shore Drill Team.

The facility is named after the late World-class sailor, philanthropist, and businessman, Gary Comer. A born and raised South Side Chicago native, Comer donated 30 million dollars to build the Comer Center to improve the quality of the education South Side children were getting. Comer also donated 1.5 million dollars to use for the South Shore Drill Team.

For more information about "Midnight Basket" please call, (773) 358-4100 and or e-mail membership@gcychome.org.

By Lee Edwards

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