POUGHKEEPSIE – A basketball tournament organized by three youngsters resulted in dozens of children between the ages of 10 and 13 filling Malcolm X Park on Sunday. The tournament had 10 teams with seven or eight players on each team.
Semaj Higgs and his two friends came up with the idea less than two weeks ago. “We just thought of it one day, and then we just made it happen the next day,” said the smiling Higgs. The trio made flyers up on Saturday and informed their parents, who immediately got involved and helped with planning, and Higgs said “Here we are today.”
Several parents got involved, including Semaj’s uncle, Troy Dancy, who said “When the kids told us about it, we had to get behind it and make it happen.” The children solicited donations and were able to get t-shirts for the teams in advance of the tourney. Semaj’s father, James Higgs told Mid-Hudson News that there hasn’t been a tournament for kids in this age bracket at Malcolm X Park since the 1990s. “This is awesome,” he declared. “I’m happy for them. When they brought it to my attention I got behind it because anything positive for the community is something we can get behind.”
Common Council member Yvonne Flowers heard of the tournament earlier this week and immediately reached out to Brian Laffin who heads up the city parks department. Flowers said “I immediately called Brian to make sure the courts weren’t already being used for an event. As soon as he said they were available, I reserved it for the kids because it was a tremendous initiative on their part.”
Flowers was joined by Councilwoman Lorraine Johnson at the park on Sunday. The two worked together to provide water and hamburgers for the kids. “This is what our city is all about,” Flowers said. “These kids are out here enjoying the redesigned park and doing the right thing. This is what everyone in the city needs to support.” Councilwoman Johnson smiled at the…
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