A Shot At Redemption Serious Points Made At Alternative School Championship
Adam Lovick moved so sweet on the basketball court Friday that the players around him looked like their feet were nailed to the floor.
Everybody’s feet except for Patrick Grandberry’s. At barely 5-foot-8, the diminutive hoopster is so quick he could probably turn off the light in his bedroom and get under the covers of his bed before the room got dark.
Don’t look for their athleticism in any State B Tournament footage.
Lovick and Grandberry are showing off their skills in the Boys Alternative High School Tournament being played at Ferris High this weekend.
There aren’t nearly as many fans in the stands for this tournament as there are for the B. But those in attendance understand their presence means a great deal to these players.
“There’s a myth that there is something wrong with these kids,” said Gary Allen, tournament director. “The truth is, most of them are real receptive to adults or anybody else that shows they’re interested in them.”
Lovick is a slender 6-foot-1 junior at Havermale Alternative Center who probably could have played for the Lewis and Clark Tigers. He was kicked out of LC last year for skipping class. Now he plays for the Havermale Jaguars who are coached by Allen.
“I just didn’t try,” Lovick said of his effort, or lack of it, at LC. “I was just goofing around doing teenage stuff.”
He’s trying to turn his act around.
“Playing for this team has really helped me out,” Lovick said. “I don’t do as much hanging out if there are things for me to do.”
Like most of his family, Lovick said he hopes to join the Navy after he graduates from high school.
Grandberry, a junior, is a member of the A-1 Falcons from Tacoma. He said he was kicked out of Tacoma’s Clover Park High for fighting last year.
“This dude jumped one of my friends, so I got him back,” Grandberry said. “I got him good.”
He now realizes beating up the guy was the wrong thing to do.
“I wish I hadn’t done it now, but you know, life goes on,” he said.
Kay Reickers, a teacher for five years in the Havermale Program, is interested in helping students like Lovick and Grandberry get their lives together so they can move on.
“These are kids who have faced some kind of impediment along the way,” Reickers said. “From finances to other social problems to health problems, they experience difficulties that a lot of people in their 40s and 50s haven’t encountered.”
Because of that wide range of problems, getting them comfortable with themselves and their surroundings can be difficult, she said.
The goal of alternative schools is to create a nurturing environment for students who haven’t had it, she said. The basketball tournament is a part of that nurturing process.
The 10-team tournament was put together six years ago by of Sunnyside, Wash., coach Paul Mendez. He wanted to give young athletes an opportunity to be applauded and congratulated by their friends and family.
Lovick said he is grateful for Mendez, because he appreciates the chance to play basketball.
“I’ve always liked the game,” Lovick said. “This is only the second year I’ve ever played on an organized team. I’d like the chance to maybe play at a two-year college and get at least a couple of years of school done.”
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