Boys Basketball Spreads Holiday Cheer
Tis the season for giving back and the boys basketball program is doing just that
Every December, the boys basketball program holds a holiday cheer event for families at one of the filler elementary schools, Algonkian Elementary. The school helps the team identify families who are less fortunate.
The families fill out a wishlist and include one thing that they need, one thing they want and a store for a gift card.The freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams each sponsor one family in need and works together to try and meet the needs and wants of the wishlist. “I love showing my guys how good it feels to help other,” said varsity head coach Jeff Hawes. “It helps get them headed on a path to be good people in life.”
On Dec. 18, the event will take place in the Potomac Falls main gym at 7:45. The three chosen families, the three teams and their families and some members of the Algonkian Elementary staff will take part in a big get-together. The kids get to eat dinner with the team and then shoot around. “It is pretty informal so we just try to make it as fun as possible for the kids,” said senior point guard Peter White.
During this time, the parents are “quietly” given some of the gifts, such as legos, coats, shoes, basketballs and books, so they can give their kids the gifts on Christmas morning. The rest of the donations are then given in forms of gift cards, passes to get into the basketball games and spirit wear shirts, usually donated by Cheers Sporting Goods.
The event takes place just before the team takes their break for the holidays. They have six games right before the break, four of which are home games. “The event not only helps others, but it helps us as a team,” said White. “It helps us get closer together.”
This is will be the third year the basketball program has come together to spread holiday cheer. “It is not only a an opportunity to help families in our community, but it also serves as an opportunity to demonstrate to the community that our program is much more than just a basketball team, it’s a family,” said Hawes.
