Team Lets Kids Be Straight Shooters

Thu., Feb. 20, 1997

Rebecca Nappi For The Editorial

The idea began in the imagination of one Louise Stamper. Get the gang member wannabes off the streets and onto a basketball court. Give them something to care about, something to do several nights a week.

You would not pick Stamper out of a crowd as the type of woman trying to stop budding criminals from walking down the path of no return. She’s a mom. A COPS West volunteer. Her hands and feet are twisted with rheumatoid arthritis. She didn’t know a thing about basketball; she thought touchdowns were part of the sport.

But Stamper’s idea became reality. And now, once a week, the West Side Ballers play ball. Team members were fledgling hoodlums filled with the potential to go bad. Now they know - and abide - by the rules. Get in trouble with the law and get off the team. They’ve stayed straight. Others have helped. The Spokane Police Department sponsors the team; COPS West paid for the uniforms.

Stamper met the youths through her work at the police substation. She was afraid of them - but also weary of her fear. One day, she asked to meet with one boy; 39 of his friends showed up. They made Stamper open her shirt in case she was wearing a hidden police microphone. She wasn’t.

Trust built between the mom and the wannabes. Stamper saw through the tough facades. She realized: “These are just boys with crushed and broken souls.”

The team has been together only two months. But educators and law enforcement types are watching it closely to see if the program could be a model to emulate citywide.

Stamper, of course, is filled with hope. Her ideas keep coming. She promised team members new Nikes if they follow through on a pledge not to smoke and swear at practices and a promise not to let the team down. She’s looking for sponsors to help pay for those Nikes, a program she jokingly refers to as “adopt a gang-banger.”

Gang activity often stirs people to action. So should activities that stop gangs from growing and spreading. So call Stamper (327-1316) and ask how you can help. Adopt a gang-banger. Or just show up and cheer at a game played by broken souls on the mend.

, DataTimes MEMO: Editor’s note: If you missed staff writer Jonathan Martin’s North Voice story about the team, you can find it online on The Spokesman-Review’s Virtually Northwest. Point your Internet browser to: www.VirtuallyNW.com and follow the link to “Unlocked Potential.”

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rebecca Nappi For the editorial board

Editor’s note: If you missed staff writer Jonathan Martin’s North Voice story about the team, you can find it online on The Spokesman-Review’s Virtually Northwest. Point your Internet browser to: www.VirtuallyNW.com and follow the link to “Unlocked Potential.”

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rebecca Nappi For the editorial board

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