BRYAN, Texas — “I could have 50 [Pro-Basketball] signees right behind me that you would never know - but this is where it starts," said Jamal Ware, Athletic Director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Brazos Valley.
For 14-year-old Justice Crutchfield, basketball is one of his many passions.
“I want to be a basketball player so I can be looked up to as one of 'the greats' maybe like Kobe Bryant," Crutchfield said.
Justice started going to the Boys & Girls Club of the Brazos Valley after school. Now, he’s a volunteer – giving his time to younger kids in the community looking for mentors just like him.
“It makes me really proud of myself that people are looking up to me," Crutchfield said.
But as the club sees lower attendance – especially for their basketball program, Ware tells me it's harder to have programs like this in the community.
“It’s changing, especially since my generation was little – we wanted to play sports and now with more technology, there aren’t many kids that want to play sports but I want to give them that opportunity to learn those things and have it change their life, like it changed mine," Ware said.
With a little less than 45 kids signed up, Ware says…
“We’re needing a lot more. If I can get close to 320 [kids sign up] or more - that will be good.”
“You’ll be able to grow as a person and look back over time and say “wow that was a good choice I made," Crutchfield said.
If you’re interested in signing your kids up for the Boys & Girls Club of the Brazos Valley’s Basketball team, head over to the Boys & Girls Club of the Brazos Valley website.