When Falcon School District 49 discontinued their elementary school basketball program, Mark Collins and Willis Odom decided to take action so students had a chance to keep playing.ìA lot of the parents were upset that (D49) wasnít going to keep the program,î Odom said. ìWe were the only ones crazy enough to step up and do it.îTogether, Odom and Collins started a nonprofit sports program, Ascend Youth Sports Organization. Neither Collins nor Odom have experience running a sports league, but they wanted to make sure their kids had the opportunity to play. ìThe biggest thing for us, as dads, was we wanted to be involved with our kids,î Odom said. ìOne way to do that and teach them properly is to volunteer.îWillis said they put the program together within one week and were able to get 10 of D 49ís 12 elementary schools to participate. He said there are 68 teams with 570 players from third to fifth grade.Collins said they worked hard to keep the teams small so kids could get as much playing time as possible. Teams practice twice a week, with six weeks of Saturday games and a tournament at the end of the season.Odom said D 49 sponsors the program, allowing them to use the facilities. Coaches, referees and coordinators for each building are volunteers. He said site coordinators, which are district employees, volunteered to give up their Saturdays for the six-week season. ìThis program couldnít be as successful without them.îCollins said giving kids a chance to play early on improves their ability to compete as they enter middle school and high school.ìThis program provides the opportunity to play with their classmates and gives them the foundation to play and touch the basketball,î Odom said. Now that his daughter is playing in middle school, Odom said he sees a huge difference between girls who just picked up the game and those who have developed their skills through elementary school leagues.Odom said they are always working to make the program better and they hope to continue it next year. ìWe take into consideration all the concerns and complaints,î he said. ìTo continue, we have to have volunteers and people step up with solutions.ìThe big reward for us is seeing the kids play and watching them grow.î
