UMass Boston Basketball Team Shares Skills with Local Youth

UMass Boston Teams up with Boston Police Department and Grove Hall Community Center to Offer Alternative to Violence

Eight-year-old Anthony Turner may not always listen to his dad and coach, but he took notice when members of the University of Massachusetts Boston men’s basketball team came to Dorchester’s Grove Hall Community Center to offer a clinic Wednesday.

The Boston Police Department, offering an alternative to violence, gangs, and drugs, teamed with the Grove Hall Community Center to offer the First Annual Boys & Girls Boston Spring Vacation Basketball Jamboree during school vacation week. UMass Boston’s Office of Community Relations worked with Head Coach and Vice Chancellor for Athletics and Recreation, Special Programs, and Projects Charlie Titus to bring the men’s team to the community center for an afternoon.

“Kids tend to listen to other people before their parents. These guys are pros to them. Some of the stuff they learned [today] I’ve taught them already, but this makes it authentic; this gives it some weight,” said Tony Turner, Anthony’s father and athletic director for the Grove Hall Community Center.

“When [the UMass Boston students] walked into the gym, all eyes were on them. [The youth] look up to these guys, and as they spoke about themselves, it just reinforced that they have such influence on these young people’s lives,” said Kenneth Grubbs, community service officer for the Boston Police Department.

The UMass Boston students taught ball handling, shooting, passing, and defensive techniques. Turner says about 100 boys and girls, ages 8 to 18, attended the clinic. Most of the youth are from Boston neighborhoods. Turner hopes this clinic will become an annual tradition.

“I’m ecstatic. [The UMass Boston students] did a great job,” he said.

About UMass Boston
With a growing reputation for innovative research addressing complex urban issues, the University of Massachusetts Boston, metropolitan Boston’s only public university, offers its diverse student population both an intimate learning environment and the rich experience of a great American city. UMass Boston’s eight colleges and graduate schools serve nearly 16,000 students while engaging local, national, and international constituents through academic programs, research centers, and public service activities. To learn more about UMass Boston, visit www.umb.edu.