Brewer needs outdoor courts

Take a car ride around the city of Brewer on a nice spring, summer, or fall day and you may see some kids booting a soccer ball around on the Pendleton Street field while others jog a few miles around the track. Continue your ride up Parkway South and you might see some people playing tennis at the high school courts.

Then, after turning into the back entrance of Doug’s Shop ‘n Save, you may discover more people playing softball or see a baseball game down at Heddericg Field. You decide to continue your ride around the city and head down Wilson Street. A glance at Doyle Field reveals more kids tossing around a football.

More miles are logged around the city, but except for some Little League play at Dalton Field, there is no more athletic action to be found. You ponder for a moment and think something, something that should be real obvious, is missing – no basketball.

No basketball in a city with Class A enrollments in its girls and boys high school basketball programs and in a state in which high school basketball is supposedly still the king of sports.

This is certainly unfortunate and one has to wonder why the tight purse strings at city hall cannot free up some money for some quality outdoor basketball courts, or at least, maintain and upgrade some the of the current ones now in a sad state of repair.

One person, at least, has decided not to wait for the slow bureaucratic wheels of city hall to ploddingly turn. Mark Savage, Brewer High’s boys basketball coach, has started a fund-raising drive to construct some outdoor basketball courts in Brewer. He is putting on two basketball clinics to help start the effort.

Savage’s effort to do so is a commendable one and, hopefully, is one which will draw attention from other Brewer citizens who would also like to see some new outdoor basketball courts. The use of good courts can be endless for the city’s youth and others seeking to put in a few outdoor games of roundball.

Some of the best games played for kids at all ages come on outdoor courts. It gives kids a sense of responsibility to organize their own games and, even better, gives them an opportunity to improve their skills and enhance their love of the game.

Often, in outdoor games, younger players will compete in contests against older players. This is one of the oldest and most successful ways of improvement – playing against someone who is better than you. The outdoor courts also offer kids who do not have hoops set up in their driveways to log hours of practice on expanding their skills.

Organized summer leagues and basketball camps are fine for helping a person improve his game, but they are no match for the dividends long hours of work on an outdoor court can produce.

It is not surprising that it took someone like Savage – who is from Aroostook County, where basketball really is king – to bring all of this obvious knowledge to the “sophisticated” city folk of Brewer.

The first basketball clinic is June 15-16 and the second June 21-22. Those seeking more information may contact Savage at Brewer High, 989-4140.