Jeremy LaBelle just wants to play ball.
Basketball that is.
The 16-year-old has started a petition calling for the city of Williams Lake or School District No. 27 to build a regulation-sized outdoor basketball court in Williams Lake.
The city does not have a public regulation court, and Jeremy said the court he and his fellow basketball enthusiasts have been using has a lot of issues.
“Every year basketball is one of the most played sports in our school, everyone’s playing it in the gym, but when it’s summer time, no one has a good court to go to,” Jeremy said.
The best available court according to LaBelle is between Nesika Elementary and Columneetza, which has bent hoops which are half a foot below regulation height, a longer court, no lines and a rough playing surface which he said “ruins shoes.”
“It’s hard to translate all the basketball you’d be playing in this summer to the actual court when you play on regulation,” explained LaBelle.
LaBelle met with the Tribune to discuss his petition and show the current state of the court on March 14, which was a cool spring day.
There were still patches of snow on the courts and it was the beginning of spring break for schools in the area.
Four youth were playing at one of the baskets when we arrived.
“I just feel like it would benefit a lot, a lot of people,” said LaBelle, who said typically he plays five days a week in the summer and about eight regular players at a time show up from grades 10, 11 and 12, with new people showing up all the time as well.
He estimates there are about 25 people out for a game on the peak days in the summer.
“It’s just a really fast-growing sport.”
“All you need is a ball and a court. Anyone can go out to a court with just a basketball and have fun.”
While he also recently took up hockey and has played soccer his whole life, basketball was something he has been playing since Grade 6.
“I just fell in love with it because of the team aspect,” he explained, while also describing the importance of an individual player’s role, in contrast with the large field and number of players when playing soccer.
“I just find it’s a lot easier to make plays, do plays for yourself … in basketball one player can change the whole game.”
With any luck, Jeremy could change the game for future basketball enthusiasts in Williams Lake, thought likely not in time for his team, which he said played well together at the recent zone championships.
“I think next year, we’re really going to have a really competitive team.”
Jeremy said he imagines the ideal location for a single, accessible and central public court would be between Kiwanis Park and the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex, on the patch of grass near where the farmer’s market is held.
As an area close to water, a store, in a high-visible location with some lighting around it, it could provide an accessible location for basketball for young people to play, even into the evening.
To read or sign Jeremy’s petition, go to: https://chng.it/KZNnYdPFfJ
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ruth.lloyd@wltribune.com
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