Serving Christ through basketball

CHILDREN PARTICIPATING IN UPWARD BOUND BASKETBALL

With 130 children, 40 coaches, 20 referees, and many other volunteers, the Upward Basketball program at Hawhammock Baptist Church is using the principles of sports to teach children about Jesus Christ.

The goal of the program is "to introduce children to Jesus Christ by creating opportunities to serve through sports." It is open to children from kindergarten to sixth grade, and is divided into age groups. Upward also offers cheerleading programs for girls.

The program promotes character and self esteem in every child by providing an evaluation system that promotes equal teams and opportunities, as well as creating opportunities for each child to learn the game and have equal playing time at every game.

Practices are held once a week and include a 5-8 minute devotional period in which coaches hold a practice-specific devotion each week. These devotionals are age-appropriate to the players and help them develop a biblical way of thinking and ultimately lead them to personal application and spiritual growth. According to the Upward Basketball Coach Playbook, "Upward's desire is to plant the seeds of truth in every child and coach who participates." Scriptures are learned during the devotional period, and every week children are given the opportunity to be rewarded for learning Scripture.

Upward utilizes a series of stars ironed onto the players' t-shirts to show progress and help motivate the children involved. Each week, players receive a green star on their shirt for learning Scripture. During games, they can be awarded one of five stars for game-day recognition. Blue stars represent Best Effort, gold stars represent Best Sportsmanship, gray stars represent Best Offense, red for Best Defense, and white stars represent Christlikeness. Players are awarded stars after every game, and each child has the opportunity to earn each star.

Hawhammock Baptist Church has 14 teams and 6 cheerleading squads and has 7 games left in this season, each game being played on a Saturday. Registration for Upward Basketball and Cheerleading is in the Fall, so contact Hawhammock Baptist Church at 237-3429 or Billy Edenfield at 237-6776 for more information.

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