Buffalo Rising Online

Aug 15th 2007, 3:05pm By cityzen

Like a well-run machine they arrived at Woodlawn Park off Ferry Avenue and unloaded coolers, bags of shirts and balls, and clipboards. They hung up sponsor’s banners. The kids who were already waiting drifted over and had their attendance marked and slipped on a purple or gold t-shirt.

This morning, the game was basketball.

For 23 summers the Willie “Hutch” Jones Sports Clinic has provided activities like basketball, soccer, dance, chess, golf, tennis, and academic tutoring, to the youth of Buffalo and near by communities for free! The Clinic was started in 1984 by Willie “Hutch” Jones and two friends; attorney/artist LeRoi Johnson Esq., and Bernard Mitchell. “Hutch” had just returned from playing basketball very successfully at Vanderbilt University and in the NBA. He realized how narrow the environment was for many kids in his hometown and wanted to make a difference in their lives. The goal was to teach skills and improve the self-esteem of underserved youth.

Today, with relaxed but very efficient organization, the kids were called to order at 9:00 AM for a brief morning meeting that included special acknowledgement of the gold-shirted children (who had perfect attendance). Next were warm-ups, stretching, and 10 minutes of jogging before Coach Johnson conducted a half hour session on basketball fundamentals, while some of the other coaches circulated to provide one-on-one direction.

Hutch’s philosophy seems to agree with School Superintendent Williams who recently—and adamantly--defended the need for junior varsity sports in school. You bring them in with basketball and then have their attention for the teaching you want to get done. Hutch’s 4 hour “basketball clinic” included a health session, time to talk, healthy snacks, contests and the Honorable J. Ogden as the day’s speaker.

At 1:00 the program is over for the day. The kids turn in their tee shirts to be washed for the next day, while the coaches pack-up the equipment and settle down for a debriefing and double check to make sure that everything is ready for the coming week’s tap dancing and golf programs.

There are no emergencies, no forgotten items, no yelling at the kids, and no yelling kids. There was genuine caring from the adults in this extraordinary program. Many of the adults, like “Hutch”, are teachers during the school year--and it shows. Several of the teens and young adults who help are high profile athletes in the community. This is not a program that is managed from an office. Providing role models for these kids is a top priority. Teachers, professionals, and athletes are all willing to share their passions and interests with kids, many who would never have had the opportunity to learn these skills, and many who need and crave the attention and caring the program provides.