WS Chronicle

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY 

THE CHRONICLE

The name Josh Howard is synonymous with the city of Winston-Salem. Since its inception in 2008, the Josh Howard Foundation has been giving back to the young men and women in the city with its camps and charitable donations.

According to the website, the Josh Howard Foundation is dedicated to helping to improve the quality of life in economically challenged communities by using programs and services that focus on academic improvement, community outreach, and athletic and fitness training.

Continuing on that tradition, the foundation has partnered with the W.R. Anderson Recreation Center to host an adult summer basketball league for area players ages 19 and up starting on May 24 and last through Aug. 24. It’s called Tre Four Summer League.  The games will take place on Sundays and Wednesdays, culminating in playoffs to determine an overall champion.

This is the first year of this league, but the partner-ing and friendship of Josh Howard and recreation center Director Bryant McCorkle goes back over two decades.  Howard played ball at the recreation center as a youth and runs an annual camp during the summer there as well.

Steve Nivens Jr., Josh Howard Foundation community relations manager, says they were looking to involve themselves more in the community and thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to do so.

“We came up with the idea just trying to give some other people the opportunity to do some-thing constructive,” he said.  “After discussing things with Mr. Bryant McCorkle here at the rec center it just evolved from there.”

They chose to focus on the 19 and over age demo-graphic because they feel that group of young men are not targeted as much as the pre teen age group when it comes to extra curricular activities to participate in.

“We need good quality adult leagues here in the city and that’s what we are trying to provide,” said McCorkle.  “It’s a chance for adults with jobs and careers to be able to play basketball in a safe environment and to stay in shape.”

They are expecting eight to 10 teams to sign up to play this initial year. The league is scheduled to run for six weeks to give the teams ample time to get a feel for one another and to build chemistry.

Sign-up fee for the league is $250 per team. They are looking for teams from all around the Triad, not just Winston-Salem. There will be an interest meeting today at 6 p.m. at the recreation center, 2450 Reynolds Park Road.

For more information you can call the recreation center at 336-650-7681 or email Nivens at the foundation at steve@josh-howardfoundation.com.