Odessa Police Chief Mike Gerke has the perfect solution for kids who want to sustain the excitement of their holiday break and get out of the house for awhile. He’s sponsoring his 4th Annual 3-on-3 Youth Basketball Throwndown.
On Wednesday, kids in sixth through eighth grade and ninth through 12th grade can challenge each other to some hoops at Odessa High School during the free event for a chance at medals and they’ll also have a chance to go up against some OPD officers “for bragging rights,” said Cpl. Mike Hamilton.
“When I became the chief I decided we needed a lot more community outreach,” Gerke said.
The tournament started five years ago, joining the department’s other outreach programs – block parties, Citizens on Patrol program and Citizen’s Police Academy. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, Gerke said they couldn’t hold it last year.
Anywhere from 50 to 100 kids have participated in past years, Hamilton said.
“We wanted to do it this time of the year because there’s not a lot to do,” Gerke said. “Some parents have to work and a lot of kids are sitting at home doing nothing.”
Just like the department’s block parties, the tournaments have been held in a different part of the city every year. It’s been held at Ector Junior High and Bonham and Crockett middle schools.
Each team will be allowed up to five players to allow for substitutes, Hamilton said.
While Gerke said that at 50-years-old he considers himself too old to go out and play, there will be other officers on hand. Among them will be Hamilton, who rolled an ankle teaching a 6-foot, 4-inch 12-year-old how to rebound the first year.
The Bronchos’ gym will remain available to the kids even after the tournament, Hamilton said.
“We truly want to keep the kids busy that day,” he said.
The chief said it’s all about giving back to the community and developing a rapport with the younger generation.
“It’s important to give back and to give people a hand up, not a hand-out, but a hand up,” Gerke said. “I think all of us have had people in our lives that have shown us the right path and have helped us realize that we are more than we think we are and we want to do that for these kids.”
Too often people see police officers on their worst day and this is a chance for them to see officers on a good day, Gerke said.
A day in the gym is a joyous time and “joy is contagious,” he said.
If you go
>> What: Chief’s 4th Annual 3-on-3 Youth Basketball Throwndown.
>> When: Wednesday.
>> Where: Odessa High School gym.
>> Time: Registration begins at 7 a.m., games start at 9 a.m.
>> Cost: Free.
