Winter League incorporates assistance with sports
A player in the W.R. Anderson winter league shoots a jump shot toward the end of the game this past Saturday.
Photo by Timothy Ramsey
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
The winter basketball league played at the W.R. Anderson Recreation Center is in full swing. With three weeks of play some teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack while others are opening eyes with their surprising play.
With the league in its third week of play, the winter league is drawing a packed house for many of their games. The games are played every Saturday and start at 7:30 a.m. and the final game starts at 5:30 p.m. The games this past weekend were action-packed and had many on the edge of their seats.
According to W.R. Anderson Director Bryant McCorkle, the league is most likely the largest its ever been. He says fans are filling the gymnasium for most of the games being played. They even have an all-girls team that plays against the boys and is doing quite well. The league also has four female coaches in an effort to be all-inclusive.
“We have been having big crowds and the participation has been great,” said McCorkle. “I am just pleased to have participation from the schools, the police department and all of our sponsors.”
The league is not only playing basketball but also held a canned food drive during its Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day tournament on Jan. 16. Onlookers were asked to donate canned goods that were in turn given to food banks. McCorkle says he wants the league at his center to be more than just playing basketball; he wants to impact the community.
On Feb. 25, the league will take a break from playing basketball and will hold a reading workshop. Volunteers and facilitators from United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist church, Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University, just to name a few, will donate their time for the event.
“The reason why we decided to do the workshop is the fact that we can reach a lot of kids and try to help them,” McCorkle said. “We have a lot of facilitators that come out and give their time. Our motto is no read no play basketball. We just want to emphasize the academic component along with the sports.
The reading workshop is free for the kids and they are only required to bring two books from their reading level. Registration for the workshop is open now until the start date, Saturday, Feb. 25.
