Convincing a young child to get out of bed on a Saturday morning isn’t easy, and on a cold winter morning the weekend of New Year’s Eve nonetheless. But when 12-year-old Try Childs woke up to his parents talking about a basketball camp hosted by the University of Michigan Wolverines, he couldn’t get ready fast enough.
Childs is one of nearly 40 young boys ages 8 to 14 who arrived at SAY Detroit in Detroit’s North End neighborhood Saturday morning eager to meet the group of men’s basketball players taking part in the camp hosted by Stadium and Main Foundation, the University of Michigan nonprofit dedicated to student-athletes, and community organization SAY Detroit.
U-M sophomore forward Tarris Reed Jr., one of five Michigan players participating in the event, said he remembers going to youth sports camps as a kid and is excited about the opportunity to give back.
University of Michigan basketball player Olivier Nkamhoua plays one-on-one with Jamil Smith, 12, of Westland, before the start of the Next Level Basketball Camp at the Say Detroit Play Center in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023.
Eric Reed, executive director for the SAY Detroit Play Center, said this camp is one of 15 planned for the community, with a youth all-girls basketball camp coming in January.
“I woke up so energized this morning, you know the kids really look forward to this,” Reed said, “it’s an opportunity for skill-building, team (building) skills and really just learning how to have fun.”
Dressed in matching yellow T-shirts, it took less than five minutes for the groggy-eyed kids to fill with energy and excitement.
Starting with a group huddle, the boys were introduced to Wolverine players Reed, Olivier Nkamhoua, Dug McDaniel, Harrison Hochberg and Jackson Selvala and given words of motivation to kick off the event.
Grandmother Iketer Adams said she attended a similar SAY Detroit event last summer with her family and it has since become an inspiring activity.
Matthew Williams, 8, of West Bloomfield, concentrates as he tries to make a basket from the side of the rim during the Next Level Basketball Camp at the Say Detroit Play Center in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023.
“(It’s more than) just learning how to interact with each other and their peers,” Adams said. “I’m trying to keep them grounded in something that they love (and teach them) how to be a gentleman coming up.”
Neighborhood resident Timothy Beerry, 63, said he’s never been to SAY Detroit before Saturday’s camp but when he saw it on the morning news he knew he had to bring his grandnephews.
“They’ve never done nothing like this, never met people like this,” he said. “This is a great start.”
Founded in 2006 by author and Detroit Free Press sports columnist Mitch Albom, SAY Detroit provides essential services for Detroiters in need and its Play Center location at 19320 Van Dyke Ave. offers everything from sports and dance camps to a drone program. Earlier this month, Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores pledged $350,000 to the organization with a $100,000 designation to the Van Dyke Play Center.
Michigan basketball player Tarris Reed Jr. and some of the kids he was coaching huddle up after drills during the Next Level Basketball Camp at the Say Detroit Play Center in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023.
How the new funding is distributed throughout the Play Center will be up to the kids, Gores said. The youths will develop an execution plan and then pitch their ideas for approval.
“The things we’ve done together the last few years involved giving and philanthropy, and business and entrepreneurship, and then creative storytelling,” said Gores. “Now I’d love for the kids to use all these skills that they’ve learned, and in a way that is both fun and educational, which is part of the mission at SAY Play that’s always impressed me.”