WS Chronicle

File photo 

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY

THE CHRONICLE

As the mercury in the thermometer continues to drop, it’s about to heat up in the gym at the W.R. Anderson recreation center.  Starting Jan. 7 and running until mid-March, the rec center will hold its annual winter basketball league.

This season, the center will have three different divisions; 8 & under, 11 & under and middle school.  The children range in ages from 5 to 15 year’s of age totaling 36 teams in all total.   Included in this years league is Sedge Garden and Cook Elementary schools.

The schools are joining the league at W.R. Anderson in an effort to steer at-risk children in the right direction by involving them in activities that will keep them away from trouble.  Teachers from the schools will serve as coaches for the teams.

During league play, the center will hold a special tournament on Jan. 16 on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.  The center will collect canned goods, which in turn will be donated to the needy and homeless.

“The thing is I’ve been doing this for a while and have seen a lot of kids that have come through the program and grow up to become productive citizens, go get degrees or even play sports in college,” said W.R. Anderson Director Bryant McCorkle.  “I get kids all the time that are now adults come back and still talk to me about the league, so we are making an impact on peoples lives.”

McCorkle says they have over 512 kids to sign up to play in the league this year.

He says the league is more diverse than ever, with the amount of girls that have signed up to play, along with other ethnic groups outside of the African-American community.

He says they have kids from all over the city sign up to play in the league.  He said parents have come from Clemmons and Pfafftown to sign their kids up to play as well.

McCorkle says he would not be able to successfully run his league without the help of his volunteer coaches, some of whom have been with the league for over 10 years.