Adams Youth Basketball League Expanding Space
ADAMS, Mass. — There'll be more room for dribbling at Renfrew Field in the spring.The Dana Labbee Summer Basketball League was given permission on Wednesday night to install a new 40-foot-by-60-foot slab to handle the hordes of children who have signed up for the fledgling program.
The program was started in 2010 in honor of Hoosac Valley athlete and honor student Dana Labbee, who died in a car crash just months before he was to graduate.
"In 2010, we were allowed to use the Renfrew Field court. It ran for eight weeks and we had 80 kids," founder Greg Charon told the Selectmen. "This year, we had 160 kids, and the single court system was at full capacity. I feel the children did not get the full benefit of the program."The program runs four hours a night, four nights a week over eight weeks. There is no cost to participate.
Charon said funds would be raised for pad, estimated at $5,500 because of in-kind donations already pledged. Portable hoops purchased for the program for this past summer will be utilized so the pad can be used for other activities. Charon said the slab will blend into park and will not require maintenance.
Labbee's mother, Martha Labbee, spoke in favor of the project.
"The first year was a success, but my husband and I were too distressed to go down," she said, but they have since become involved. "It gave us a whole new family of people."
She was impressed that the program accepted all children and by how much they had learned in skills and sportsmanship by the end of the season. "What touched my heart mostly was all the laughter I heard," said Labbee.
The board voted unanimously in favor of the project, with Chairman Arthur "Skip" Harrington commenting on the community spirit of all involved. Selectmen Scott Nichols and Jason Hnatonka, however, also expressed concern over the possible interference with other sports and if the single slab was going to be enough for the number of children.
Charon said he did not see a problem with other sports and that the single slab was enough for now, adding "we can add on."
Parks Commission Chairman James Fassell said the placement had been discussed with the parks supervisor and the commission was in favor.
"I really don't want another basketball court," he said, because of worries over vandalism, which would mean installing another fence. But the slab will be simple, blend in and won't block access to the park. "I like the practicalness of it ... and remember, we're not paying for it — the price is right."
Tags: basketball,
