LYNN — Local nonprofit Stop the Violence will host its annual basketball league again this summer, after it was put on pause last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s event was made possible by a $25,000 donation Stop the Violence received in March from a Lynn family, according to Ward 6 Councilor Fred Hogan, a founding member of Stop the Violence who explained the positive impacts the program has on the city’s youth.
“In the summertime, when it starts heating up a bit, we just want to get the kids off the streets on a Friday night,” said Hogan. “This is one of the ways we can do it.”
The basketball league starts on Friday at the new Demakes Family YMCA gym and will run for six weeks. The location is new for the program, which used to be held in the gym at Fecteau-Leary Junior/Senior High School.
The teams consist of two adults, who act as mentors to the players, four high school boys and two high school girls. Hogan said the concept of mixing up the teams in this way adds an edge to the league while also making it more fun.
The teams are led by adults who coach basketball locally or are involved with the community in other ways. An adult on each team acts as the general manager (GM) and recruits students.
Each team is named after a local organization that sponsors the league, including Lynn Youth Street Outreach Advocacy (LYSOA), the Lynn Police Association, Centerboard, Body Rock Entertainment (BRK), Lights Out Shooting Gym and Teamsters Local 42.
The LYSOA team will see a father and son playing together, with Flynn Manalaysay acting as the GM and his son, Miles, playing for him.
“It looks like there’s some really good rosters,” Hogan said.
The six teams will play each other based on a schedule that rotates each week. Hour-long games will begin at 5 p.m., with a final game starting at 7.
The top four teams will qualify for the playoffs, which are planned for July 23. A championship game planned for that same day will wrap up the tournament.
Hogan said the Lynn YMCA Senior Branch Executive Andrea Baez has been “unbelievable,” in terms of working with Stop the Violence and allowing them to host the league at the new facility.
“We’ll be playing inside the new gym and it has AC and is beautiful and has a nice scoreboard too,” Hogan said.
To show their appreciation for the Curtis family, the Lynn couple who made this year’s league possible, Hogan said the shirts for the Stop the Violence league include a simple message of gratitude, “Thank you Curtis family.”
“This was all brought to us because we had people generous enough to help us out with our program,” Hogan said. “The league is a controlled environment and is going to be a safe zone for these kids that may not always be in a safe zone at this time of year.”
After fighting through the pandemic, Hogan said the organization and people involved are happy to be able to host events and see people again in-person. Each player is allowed to bring two guests to come and watch the games, but anyone with a membership to the YMCA can attend.
“The whole committee has been great through the pandemic, firing up ideas and trying to get things back to normal,” Hogan said. “We’re here to help the kids and to protect the kids and try to keep them in a positive environment.”
