Saugus winter hoop program a treat for kids, parents

SAUGUS – Close to 100 kids thundered into the Saugus YMCA basketball court Friday night for the first night of the Saugus Athletic League winter basketball program.Paul Petkewich and his wife Lynn organize the league, which is free and open to kids of all ages.?Mainly it?s something for the kids to do on a Friday night and keep them off the streets,” said Petkewich. “I?m always here in the middle. My wife is out front managing the applications and the food and water, and taking care of all the kids. I?m the go-to guy. No matter what happens it all falls on me.”Parents and kids packed the hallway outside the gym eagerly waiting for the doors to open at 7 p.m. When they finally opened, the quiet gym turned into a cacophony of bouncing balls, laughing, yelling and running.?At first it?s chaos,” said Petkewich, who is also a Town Meeting member. “Then it slows up to a little more organization.”Kerry O?Brien visited the gym with her daughters, Allison, 8, and Emma, 5.?It?s great for a Friday night and it?s a free clinic,” said O?Brien. “We?ve been waiting all year for this.”Tim Donohue attended with his sons, Brennan, 7, and Tyler, 5.?It?s a good winter activity,” said Donohue. “? They?re doing it for free. It?s great, that?s why I?m happy to donate some money to help them out.”Folding tables loaded with boxes of apples, oranges, granola bars and bottles of water lined the hallway, all courtesy of Hannaford Supermarkets which, along with the Saugus Youth and Recreation Commission, Petkewich says have been vital in keeping the program going.Middle-schoolers took over one half of the court, while first- through third-graders played on a 7-foot hoop in the opposite corner of the court, and third- through fifth-graders played on the other corner with an 8-foot hoop.Petkewich also enlists the help of high school volunteers to give basketball lessons.?They teach them how to dribble, how to pass, chest pass and bounce pass,” said Petkewich. “They?ll have them shoot.”The basketball league isn?t the only free program Petkewich organizes. He has four weeks of baseball in the spring, 10 weeks of street hockey in the summer and seven weeks of flag football in the fall.?I do 32 weeks out of 52 weeks with some sort of free activity,” said Petkewich.For more information go to saugusyouthandrec.org.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].